Warrant: South Charlotte man accused of making incendiary devices
A 29-year-old south Charlotte man is accused of making incendiary devices, according to court documents. Authorities located several devices in a south Charlotte apartment.
Channel 9 is not naming the man under investigation because charges have not yet been filed.
According to court documents, the man under investigation’s roommate first contacted CMPD with concerns on Jan. 8. He told detectives he believed the man “may be creating chemical bombs” and had seen him reading “The Anarchist Cookbook.” Court documents say that book contains instructions for the manufacture of explosives.
After a warrant was served yesterday, a SCLT man accused by the FBI of making incendiary devices just did an interview through his door with me. He claims he never intended to hurt anyone. He says he was just interested in them and some of this was for security business @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/kQkhSloIyB
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) April 13, 2022
The warrant says in June 2021 the roommate said he was asked by the man under investigation to purchase chemicals online. According to the documents, the roommate said he was asked to purchase the chemicals, because “he knew that ordering a certain amount would get him on the FBI list.”
In August 2021, the documents say the accused showed his roommate a “disc-like device” that he ignited in the yard behind their apartment. The accused described the device as a “poor man’s tear gas grenade” and it could cause chemical burns if someone was exposed. According to documents, following the detonation of the device, the accused man told the roommate, “It would be beneficial to have a device such as the one they detonated in situations such as riots and/or protests.” The roommate said the accused man stated, “He wanted to detonate the device in a protest crowd.” He also said the accused man made more comments about harming people including, “wouldn’t it be nice if we could just poison all the homeless.”
The accused man was accidentally shot by a friend, according to a statement the roommate made to police.
The accused man is now paralyzed. The suspected shooter said he was “field-stripping” an AR-style rifle. The shooter gave officers consent to enter the residence. Officers noticed several different rifles, tactical gear and pistol magazines but no explosives, according to documents.
[CMPD: Device found uptown ‘intentionally designed’ to look like explosive; rendered safe]
On Jan. 10, CMPD detectives contacted the FBI and told them the information the roommate provided. On Jan. 14, the FBI did a phone interview with the roommate. The court documents say that’s when the roommate told investigators about the request to purchase chemicals online and his account of the disc-like device that ignited in their backyard. According to the documents, the roommate told the FBI he had pictures of the device and agreed to meet and speak more with them.
On Jan. 19, court documents say the roommate did an interview with the FBI at their Charlotte-field office. The documents say the roommate brought the device the accused man had created. According to court documents, an FBI special agent bomb technician identified the device as incendiary and potassium perchlorate. During the interview, the roommate told the interviewers he was with the accused man as he manufactured more devices. He also told interviewers how the accused man created the device.
The court documents say, during the interview, the roommate showed pictures of books the accused man purchased. The affidavit describes the books shown as known “to be used by individuals planning and preparing to commit violence.” The roommate told interviewers there were more incendiary devices made by the accused man in their apartment.
Court documents say on Jan. 19, the CMPD bomb squad searched the accused man’s apartment and discovered “seven identical devices to the device that was brought to the FBI chair guard shack … two pounds of Tannerite and various chemicals.”
[ALSO READ: Feds: NC man taught bomb making to person targeting authorities]
On Jan. 20, according to court documents, FBI Charlotte agents executed a search warrant for his apartment and discovered “masking tape, rubber bands, aluminum tape, the metal device container, matchsticks, various fuse cords and various chemicals.” The FBI also observed the books described by the roommate.
On April 12, the FBI executed another warrant seeking fingerprints and a DNA sample from the accused man to compare it to devices seized.
Accused man speaks
Channel 9 spoke to the accused man at his south Charlotte apartment Wednesday afternoon. He predicted nothing would come out of the FBI’s accusations and says he has complied with all requests.
“Ultimately nothing is going to come of it, because I know I didn’t do anything,” he said. “I don’t know what they thought I did.”
The accused man says he was working as a security contractor at the time all of this was happening. He says he purchased the books cited in the court documents because he was interested in the topics.
He denied being worried about the amount of chemicals he was purchasing online and said the device he created and set off was for aerosoft training.
“We were doing course-on-course training with aerosoft and stuff like that,” he said. “I think I had smoke bombs and stuff like that.”
When asked if he wanted to detonate the device in the protest he said, “Who the (expletive) said that?” He also denied saying the remarks about the homeless.
[ALSO READ: Warrant: Ex-manager of Highland Games bought bomb-making materials at Family Dollar]
Asked about the devices, Tannerite and chemicals that CMPD seized, the accused man said he purchased all of the chemicals from Amazon.
“We have a farm out in the middle of the country and the Tannerite was to go out there and do stuff,” he said. He also added “the smoke bombs were for fun.”
Asked if he ever had an intention to hurt someone, he responded, “Never.”
The accused man said he isn’t sure why the FBI launched the investigation.
“They came into my hospital where I was laying down in my bed and couldn’t move, because I have a bullet in my spine, seized my cellphone and raided my apartment,” he said. “It might allege some serious things but at the end of the day, I am not that guy. I don’t have it in me to go out of my way to hurt other people.”
“I consented because I know I didn’t do anything,” he said. “I don’t understand it.”
The accused man says the FBI placed him on the no fly list and that prevented him from getting stem cell treatment for his injury.
The FBI declined comment and just said the investigation is ongoing.
Return to this story for updates.
(Watch the video below: Bomb squad called to Va. home after officers serve search warrant)
