Reports of high spikes Police in a suburban New York neighborhood led authorities this week to an apartment where a man was found storing more than two dozen improvised explosive devices, federal prosecutors said.
Raymond Elders had “bluish-black chemical residue” on his hands and was holding a lighter when police encountered him inside the apartment early Monday in White Plains, according to a criminal complaint.
Elders, 65, faces charges that include using a weapon of mass destruction, manufacturing destructive devices, and possessing those devices and explosives after being convicted of a felony.
He made his first appearance in court on Tuesday, and a judge ordered him to remain in custody, noting that he was a potential flight risk and a danger to the community.
Seungsoo Lee, the federal public defender representing the Elders, did not immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment.
The document stated that the neighbors called the police after hearing loud explosions, and one of them said that she had been hearing such sounds in the area for several weeks.
When authorities arrived, a witness directed an officer to the building where Elders lived, and the officer noticed a “strong burning odor” and then discovered what he thought was a pipe bomb on the front stairs, prosecutors say.
Inside, they found elders and another person. A search of the apartment ultimately led to the discovery of at least 25 explosive devices, according to the complaint.
Surveillance video captured earlier this month also showed a man believed to be an elderly man standing on a sidewalk on his street holding what appeared to be an explosive device, which he lit and then threw into the street before fleeing on foot, prosecutors said. An explosion is then heard in the footage seconds later.