Student awaits trial for drug charges & weapons possession

A college student from Penn State’s Altoona campus has been arrested on serious charges after allegedly building a homemade bomb. Officers had originally raided the freshman student’s apartment to look for marijuana plants. Authorities say they found a grow operation and five marijuana plants in the young man’s apartment. He is now facing drug charges, including possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia. He is currently being held in Blair County Prison at $500,000 bail. The 19-year-old reportedly allowed officers to search his home. They found bomb-related materials in a suitcase. Those materials included fuses, compressed air, chemicals, and a variety of other bomb-building components. The young man told officers he purchased the components through an online retailer and assembled the bombs in his home over a three-week period. The suspect said he has never detonated an explosive device and that he never intended to hurt anyone; however, one of his apartment mates said they had set off several mini-bombs outside the building. The suspect’s neighbor told him to get rid of the bombs. The neighbor said he was not surprised that the suspect was arrested, describing him as someone who “tinkered with bombs because he was bored.” The neighbor said he never thought the defendant was legitimately dangerous. The defendant in this case is facing weapons and drug charges in connection with the police search. Even though he has been arrested and charged with those crimes, he is not automatically considered guilty. Criminal defendants in Pennsylvania have a variety of legal options to explore. A qualified local attorney such as Gary Gerson may be able to educate them about those options in the context of their specific cases and help them in court With 412-219-6875 with questions today.