Posted on 06/20/2002 5:59:59 PM PDT by stratous
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/75332_fill20.shtml
Man kept in jail after Kool-Aid bomb blows up his truck
Thursday, June 20, 2002
By LINDA ASHTON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YAKIMA -- A man who said he was experimenting with a Kool-Aid-containing explosive compound for homemade fireworks when his truck blew up will remain in jail pending a federal grand jury investigation.
Thomas R. Webster, 45, of Yakima, was ordered held without bail yesterday by federal Magistrate Lonny Suko.
A federal criminal complaint alleges that Webster was in possession of an unregistered destructive device when officers from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Yakima Police Department searched his home last week.
Webster's 1971 yellow pickup truck exploded on June 13, destroying the vehicle, scattering debris 150 feet away and starting several small fires.
Webster told ATF Special Agent Eric Floyd that he had been making an explosive called HMTD and was writing a how-to manual for making fireworks.
Webster said he had been making the compound in his apartment for more than a year and was storing it in the back of his truck, Floyd testified.
The truck was parked in a parking lot adjacent for the four-plex apartment house where he lived when it blew up.
"It was absolute, total disregard for public safety to put explosive devices in the back of the truck," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Hagarty.
No one was hurt in the blast, although three people were nearby, he said.
HMTD "is a very unstable explosive," Floyd said.
"The U.S. military experimented with it, and tried to stabilize it and couldn't."
At least one pyrotechnics Web site describes the compound as very dangerous and notes it will explode if it sits in the sun.
HMTD is the same compound used in the jetliner shoe bomb case from late last year, he said.
Richard Reid, 28, a British citizen, is accused of trying to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 during its trip from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22. Authorities allege he was trained in Afghanistan by the al-Qaida terrorist group.
The materials for making the compound, including Kool-Aid for citric acid, are readily available, Floyd said.
"You can go to Fred Meyer and buy all the components," he said.
Webster voluntarily allowed Floyd and a Yakima police officer to search his house, where they found chemicals, fuses, containers and "flame-thrower" shotgun shells, along with a variety of how-to books and several types of prescription drugs.
Webster's court-appointed defender, Rebecca Pennell, urged Suko to release her client pending the grand jury investigation.
She said there was no indication that he was anti-government or angry at anyone.
He has never been in trouble before and lives with and takes care of his girlfriend, Ella, who is crippled by arthritis.
"I think the evidence is that what was done was foolish, but there's no indication it was malicious," Pennell said.
Webster, who has been fired from his job at a Safeway store, was described by his boss and co-workers as "moody" and "disgruntled," Floyd testified.
© 1998-2002 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Quess? Home Made ______ Device?
LOL. Good answer.
ALBATROSS!!!! :)
LOL...whos Fred Meyer? Sounds like Fred should be locked up too?
This sounds like something out of the Firesign Theater: 'The BATF reminds everyone: renew your destructive devices registration during January.
Actually, you can own hand gernades & similar cool stuff, legally! They are registered with BATF much like machine guns but as destructive devices. In fact, a Molotov Cocktail is classified as a destructive device, you can make one if you apply to the BATF to do so. Coincidently, if you have empty beer bottles, gasoline & a roll of paper towels in your home, the BATF can charge you with possession of illegal bomb making components. So take your recycling out often and buy your beer & soda in cans.
BTW, if you have about 1.5 millon to spare, I can hook you up with an Apache helicopter and a 20mm Gatling cannon fully operational and fully legally yours, along with 20mm ammo, seriously!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.