Eustis man arrested, intended to 'blow himself, his residence, and the entire street up'

EUSTIS — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has arrested and charged a man with building bombs and booby traps with the intent of blowing himself up inside his house and destroying his neighborhood.

He had collected 50 pounds of the same kind of fertilizer chemical used in the 1995 Oklahoma City explosion.

Markus Fricke, 55, of the 30000 block of Tulip Avenue in the Royal Trails area, was arrested on a warrant that charged him with six counts of making destructive devices, one count of discharging a destructive device, making a threat to discharge an explosive device, possession of a short-barreled shotgun and having a concealed weapon without a license.

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'He was planning on blowing himself, his residence, and the entire street up'

A woman who lived in the house, Ruth Gill, fled to nearby woods and called the sheriff’s office Friday. She said Fricke told her that “he was planning on blowing himself, his residence, and the entire street up,” according to the arrest affidavit.

She described herself as a friend and a roommate.

Neighbors of the one-acre property reported hearing recent blasts so powerful Wednesday that shook the walls of their home. Investigators found craters in the back yard.

When deputies arrested him in his car, they reportedly found a spring-loaded homemade firearm on the floorboard loaded with a live 12-gauge shotgun shell.

“When asked about the device the defendant said it was a prototype device to help with mouse extermination,” the arrest affidavit said

Between 25 and 30 people, including the sheriff’s bomb squad and two federal ATF agents collected the devices with the aid of a robot starting Friday evening and ending after much of the day Saturday, LCSO Lt. John Herrell said Tuesday.

They found four devices designed to be triggered by a trip wire, that “once activated begins a sequence releasing a latch that then releases a hinge held under spring tension with a makeshift firing pin,” the affidavit said.

One such device was found inside a plastic box.

“The devices appear to be manufactured from everyday household parts, welded and soldered with specific intent,” the affidavit said.

A fourth device was a firearm with the stock removed, its trigger ready to be pulled back with clear fishing line.

The devices appeared to be functional but were not loaded with explosives, the affidavit noted.

Law enforcement officers also found a homemade fire grenade made from an aerosol can of carburetor cleaner.

The woman who called deputies said he was awaiting other materials. She called when she saw the 50 pounds of ammonium nitrate.

A concerning connection with Timothy McVeigh

Timothy McVeigh loaded a rental truck with 5,000 pounds of the fertilizer and fuel and parked it in front of the federal building in Oklahoma City. He set a timer and walked away. The blast leveled the muti-story building, incinerated dozens of cars, damaged 300 buildings and killed 168 people, including 19 children.

It was the worst domestic terrorism incident in U.S. history.

Deputies are familiar with Fricke. He had an “extensive history of unusual and concerning behavior,” they wrote in the arrest report. Several times, he has shot into the attic, thinking someone was living in the space above the ceiling.

Fricke has been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital and under a risk protection order approved by the court. Yet, deputies found “copious amounts of firearms and ammunition,” including an illegal short-barrel shotgun.

They also found, with the aid of a search warrant, pressure- and motion-detection devices, a “significant amount” of fuel, gun powder, and potassium nitrate.

Fricke does not have a license to collect potentially explosive fertilizer materials, the report said.

“In addition, a significant amount of anti-Semitic literature was located within the residence, however it is unknown at this time if there were any targets of interest….”

Because Fricke was deemed a threat to himself and others, he was taken to LifeStream Behavioral Center, where he was held for 72 hours, and was then taken to jail on Monday, where he was held without bond.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Lake County, Florida man charged with making homemade bombs, booby traps