Serial Fresno bomber sentenced to state prison on Thursday

More than a year after a series of bombings rocked Fresno, the man behind them appeared in a county courtroom on Thursday.

Scott Anderson, once called a serial bomber, was in court to learn his sentence. The 45-year-old previously pleaded no contest to causing an explosion and arson.

A surveillance camera captured one of the explosions. A silver car pulled up, and somebody appeared to throw what police say was a pipe bomb. Within seconds, a Fresno County probation vehicle went up in flames.

The bombing was one of seven incidents investigators say Anderson pulled off with homemade pipe bombs.

"We had no reason to believe that they were going to stop," Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said in March 2023.

Six of the bombings involved cars, and the seventh involved a mailbox. They all happened between November 2022 and February 2023.

Nobody got hurt in the explosions, but there was property damage. Now, Anderson will have to pay and go to prison.

"Probation is denied, and the defendant is sentenced to five years in state prison," Fresno County Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Wilson said on Thursday.

The sentence in the state's case against Anderson comes as the man still faces federal charges.

Action News Legal Analyst Tony Capozzi is Anderson's defense attorney. Capozzi says the sentence handed down on Thursday was part of an agreement with prosecutors.

"The understanding in this case is that he would plead guilty to the state charges here," Capozzi said. "And the understanding, also, is that he would plead guilty in federal court. This is both a federal and state agreement."

County prosecutors also charged three other people in the state case. Two received probation, and one is still in court.

As for Anderson, Capozzi says the man is sorry for what he did.

"It is a stupid, childish prank," Capozzi said of the incidents.

Anderson still faces about five years in prison for the federal charges against him, but attorneys are still working out whether he would serve that in state or federal prison.