Brainerd woman finds ex-boyfriend's pipe bomb in apartment closet: charges
BRAINERD, Minn. (FOX 9) - A woman in Brainerd claimed she found a pipe bomb made by her ex-boyfriend while cleaning out a closet in her apartment, according to court documents.
Prosecutors charged Jonathan Theodore Durham, 38, in Crow Wing County with a felony of manufacturing, possessing, or storing an explosive or incendiary device after the discovery of the alleged pipe bomb on Tuesday.
According to the criminal complaint, a woman called the police just before 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 27 and reported she found what she thought could be a pipe bomb and drugs left in the apartment she shared with her ex-boyfriend.
The woman allegedly told police her recent ex-boyfriend, Durham, had previously made comments about making a pipe bomb for someone that "deserved it" and had plenty of ammunition to do so. According to the complaint, she didn’t know that he had actually made the device or who he was talking about.
The woman claimed she found the device on an empty shelf in the closet while she was cleaning. She told police she picked up the device with her bare hands and moved it to the coffee table in the living room, the complaint states.
When the officer entered the apartment, he said he saw a metal pipe on the table with two metal caps, one of which had a green fuse protruding from the inside of the device. The officer noted there was a rubber glove around the cap that did not have the fuse and there were shotgun shells and other ammunition on the table near the device, according to court documents.
Police requested assistance from the Crow Wing County Bomb Team who examined and removed the device from the apartment. The device was x-rayed which showed it appeared to be a "live device" containing powder and shrapnel inside, the complaint states.
Police said the fragments looked consistent with contents from inside a shotgun shell, according to the complaint. The woman claimed she was finding black powder containers and cut open shotgun shells around the apartment. She added Durham kept his hunting items in the same closet the device was found, according to court documents.
When officers located Durham, he initially denied making a pipe bomb then stated he was "dinking around" and assembled the device but took it apart month ago. He claimed he was outside by the gravel pit by the Brainerd airport when making the device, the complaint states.
The woman said she and Durham had been living together in the apartment for the past year but did not state when they broke up.
Durham is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday. If found guilty, he faces up to 10 years behind bars.