Man who had rocket atop East Tacoma house ordered to pay city $18,000

A former soldier who had a tank-piercing rocket on top of his East Tacoma house will have to pay $18,000 to help cover the cost of the police response to remove the explosive late last year.

Tracy Worwood, 45, pleaded guilty Friday in Pierce County Superior Court to charges of reckless endangerment and attempting to unlawfully manufacture, sell, or offer to sell explosives.

He was given a year behind bars, which was suspended. If he follows the law and other conditions of his sentence, he won’t have to serve the time.

Deputy Prosecutor Kawyne Lund said the $18,000 doesn’t come close to covering the cost of the police response, but it’s what the state thought it could recover from Worwood.

When officers found the explosive Dec. 9, they closed McKinley Avenue from 46th to 56th streets, asked residents to stay inside their homes and evacuated a nearby elementary school.

Worwood’s son first found the rocket, and it was reported to police when the boy’s mother saw a photo of it. Local and federal authorities responded and safely disposed of the rocket at the Tacoma landfill.

Worwood told investigators he thought the rocket was a training round, and said someone gave it to him as a going-away present.

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Man who had rocket atop East Tacoma house ordered to pay city $18,000."