West EMT Charged With Possession of Explosive Device
May 10--A West paramedic who was arrested Wednesday admitted to possessing the components of a pipe bomb and is being held without bond, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Bryce Ashley Reed, 31, a volunteer paramedic with West EMS, appeared in federal court Friday morning in Waco. He remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on Wednesday in Waco before United States Magistrate Judge Jeffrey C. Manske.
Investigators have not linked the arrest to the deadly April 17 explosion at West Fertilizer Co. that killed 15 people and injured 200 -- but they also haven't ruled it out.
"At this time authorities will not speculate whether the possession of the unregistered destructive device has any connection to the West fertilizer plant explosion on April 17, 2013," according to Department of Justice press release.
While investigators have not linked Reed's arrest to the explosion, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw on Friday directed the Texas Rangers to join McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara in a criminal investigation of the blast.
"The citizens of McLennan County and Texas must have confidence that this incident has been looked at from every angle and professionally handled -- they deserve nothing less," Sheriff McNamara said in prepared statement.
Pipe bomb components found
According to an affidavit signed by Douglas J. Kunze, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire and Explosives, investigators were called to a residence in nearby Abbott on Tuesday where the components for a "possible destructive device" were found.
The affidavit said Reed had given the components to a friend on April 26, nine days after the devastating explosion.
The affidavit said the components of a destructive device "included a galvanized metal pipe that was 3.5 inches in length by 1.5 inches in diameter."
The canisters also included two galvanized end caps attached to the pipe with one containing "an unknown amount of hobby fuse, a lighter, a digital scale, plastic spoon, six coils of metal ribbon and several pounds of chemical powders in individual bags," the complaint said.
The powders included "Potassium Nitrate, Aluminum powder, Red Iron Oxide, Ammonium Percholorate, Potassium Perchololate, Sulphur powder, Aif Float Charcoal and Eckart 10890 German Dark Aluminum." An ATF explosive specialist and chemist agreed that it could "readily assembled into a destructive device," the affadavit said.
The complaint also said that "Reed admitted to possessing the components of the pipe bomb" to other law enforcement investigators.
If convicted, Reed could face up to ten years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
Reed spoke at memorial
Houston TV station KPRC quoted unnamed federal sources as saying Reed had asked an acquaintance to store a box for him. The sources said that person decided to look in the box and discovered what appeared to be a pipe bomb. They then called the McLennan County Sheriff's office who contacted federal investigators.
On his LinkedIn profile, Reed said he spent time at the U.S. Biological and Chemical Weapon Depot in Fort McClellan, Ala.
Reed also lists one year from 2010-2011 as a technician/regional safety officer for Allied International Emergency LLC., where he said response teams dealt with "Weapons of Mass Destruction Response, Nuclear Event Management, Chemical or Biological Weapons Containment, Large Scale Environmental Loss Mitigation, to DOT/EPA small scale spill cleanup..." The company has three offices, including one in Haltom City, but officials didn't immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
At a memorial service for the fallen first-responders, Reed was part of the videotaped eulogy for Abbott firefighter Cyrus Reed, who died in the explosion. They were not related but Reed was listed as a "brother" in an obituary. A Waco TV station, KWTX, reported that Reed was considered a "brother in arms" to Cyrus Reed.
In his last Facebook post on Wednesday, Reed wrote: "I just wanted to tell everyone thank you for all the prayers and support. I'm going to take a break from Facebook to reflect. I assure you that I'm ok. God bless you all, and please if you heed nothing else I have said, love one another. God bless. Bryce."
Bill Hanna, 817-390-7698 Twitter: @fwhanna
