Stayed sentence given for woman charged in Blaine apartment blast

Krystal Frasier KSTP

A judge has ordered a Blaine woman to serve a two-year stayed sentence for a charge filed in connection to an explosion at an apartment building in the spring of 2023.

On Monday morning, Judge Sean Gibbs ordered 29-year-old Tayler Ann Boatner to two years of probation in lieu of a year at the Anoka County Jail for one count of child endangerment. In addition, two counts of explosive/incendiary device violation were dismissed.

An amended sentencing order for Tayler’s husband, Lee John Boatner, was filed last month. He will be paying a fine of $21,000 over the course of five years for a charge of explosive/incendiary device violation. Charges of child endangerment, attempted damage of critical public service facilities that had been filed against him were dismissed.

As reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, the explosion at Cedar Green Apartments in March 2023 caused two people to be hospitalized for injuries.

When officers arrived at the scene around 1 a.m. that day, they found a man with “traumatic injuries” to both of his hands and another resident inside with injuries on her face. A child who was inside the apartment at the time of the blast wasn’t injured.

A criminal complaint states that agents found a substance that later tested positive for the explosive compound known as triacetone triperoxide, or TATP. They determined that a large explosion likely happened in the master bedroom and found that the Boatners had all of the precursors needed to make TATP. A search of their laptop later showed a bookmark with information on how to make TATP.

Investigators also saw search history on the laptop from two months earlier that included “Blaine water table,” “poisoning ground water,” “Anoka county gis sewer,” “[M]inneapolis interceptor drain,” and “Buried Exolosion,” according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities found blood spatter all over the master bedroom. The window was shattered, blinds had holes and a haze that smelled of a battery covered the apartment, the complaint adds. However, bomb squad members noted there wasn’t any evidence of a battery exploding and the damage wasn’t consistent with a battery explosion.

Tayler Boatner told police that Lee Boatner liked to “fix” things with their son and had been recently laid off from his job as a solar electrician. However, she didn’t directly answer questions about explosives, according to court documents.

While no other units in the apartment complex were damaged by the explosion, court documents state that another resident’s vehicle was damaged by chemicals and debris that were blown out of the bedroom window. That damage was estimated to cost around $5,000 to repair.