(AP) — A Mississippi man is accused of creating an improvised explosive device in his home after watching internet videos about bomb making, prosecutors say.
Brian Richard Sanders intended to maim or kill his ex-girlfriend, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote in a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg.
Federal agents and the Biloxi police bomb squad searched Sanders’ home in Laurel on Jan. 17, the complaint states. The agents say they found the bomb, two bottles of black powder, a fuse, several guns and ammunition. They were able to dismantle the device in a safe area near the home.
Sanders vowed to place nails inside “and when it explodes it throws the nails all over,” the complaint states. It says there’s an audio recording of him outlining his plans.
Sanders’ ex-girlfriend had been living with him in Laurel. The two had a dispute over drug use in the home and she took his motorcycle and car when she left the residence, the complaint states. Sanders tried to get the vehicles back, but couldn’t and became angry, it states.
“Sanders began watching videos on the internet via his cellular telephone with the intent to learn how to build pipe bombs and firearm silencers,” according to the complaint.
His plan was to throw a brick through a window to shatter the glass, then throw the bomb through the window when his ex-girlfriend was inside, the complaint states.
In an interview after agents searched his home, Sanders claimed he made the device to destroy a beaver dam in a pond on his property.
Sanders’ lawyer, Joshua Kadel, didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
Sanders remained in custody Wednesday. A preliminary hearing is set for Friday in Hattiesburg.