Couple charged after allegedly setting off pipe bombs in Ramsey
The couple, 24-year-old Jacob Hall and 25-year-old Jennifer Stuer, are accused of working together to set off pipe bombs throughout the City of Ramsey, Minnesota. Photo Courtesy: Anoka County Jail
RAMSEY, Minn. (KMSP) - A young couple has been charged after allegedly setting off small bombs throughout Ramsey, Minn., including one at a new home still under construction.
The couple, 24-year-old Jacob Hall and 25-year-old Jennifer Stuer, was discovered after a witness saw Hall seemingly set up a pipe bomb by the Ramsey fire station Monday evening.
Hall was charged with three counts of explosive/incendiary device violation, one count of criminal damage to property and one count of controlled substance crime. Stuer faces the similar charges, but instead faces just two counts of explosive/incendiary device violation.
A witness reported they had seen a man in a wooded area near the fire station Monday night with extension cords and a suspicious item, later entering a nearby home without the cord.
In the wooded area, responders found a pipe bomb in a flower pot surrounded by a bag of paint. Attached to the bomb was an extension cord, which was connected to a 12-volt car battery. A bomb squad safely deactivated the bomb.
Police found Hall and Stuer in the home the witness identified.
Hall told police he set up the bomb to "send a message" to the youths that sometimes partied in the woods. He also wanted to impress his girlfriend, setting off as many as six bombs recently in Ramsey.
Hall admitted to setting off a bomb inside a new home under construction on Oct. 7 on the 5700 block of 152nd Court in Ramsey. Police had received a report that a small bomb caused more than $1,000 worth of damage to the wall and framing at the home. A witness later told police he saw a car drive off after hearing an explosion around 1:00 a.m., but at the time police weren't able to identify a suspect.
Stuer confirmed Hall's account of the Oct. 7 explosion and told police she drove him to the house to set off the bomb, also driving him to several other spots to set off bombs "just for fun."
After executing a search warrant at the home, police found a three-ring binder containing bomb-making instructions and a "large amount" of bomb-making materials such as pipes, model rocket engines, igniters, switches and capacitors, wires and a potato gun device that could shoot ball bearings.
Police also found marijuana, methamphetamine, a handmade gun and a collection of stolen lawn ornaments, lights and wind chimes.
Both Hall and Stuer had their first appearances in court on Wednesday. Hall's bond was set at $150,000 unconditionally. Stuer's was set at $25,000 unconditional or $10,000 conditional. They will have their next hearing on November 21.