In a startling discovery, authorities uncovered over 25 pipe bombs inside an apartment in White Plains while delving into an explosive device found earlier on a serene, tree-lined street. This find sheds light on a series of mysterious loud booms that had puzzled residents for weeks.
Raymond Elders, aged 65, was apprehended and now faces multiple charges, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction. Investigators found these pipe bombs and materials for making explosives at his residence on Odell Avenue, as reported by CBS New York.
Elders’ arrest came after a police officer noticed a suspicious explosive near his apartment entrance, prompting a deeper probe.
Officers had originally responded to what was thought to be a transformer explosion following a loud blast that reverberated through the neighborhood at around 4:30 a.m., a sound that residents had become all too familiar with recently.
Authorities rendered the device harmless, instituting a shelter-in-place order for the suburban area as a precaution.
Federal officials noted that Elders had black and blue stains on his hands and was holding a lighter when he was detained, according to reports from the news outlet.
Surveillance footage obtained by the outlet from March 18 also allegedly captured Elders standing in the middle of the street, lighting a device, and then throwing it into the street.
He then quickly scurried away and tightened his hooded sweatshirt around his face after an explosion was heard, the clip showed.
Authorities believe the hoard of explosives may be tied to a neighbor dispute, WABC reported. However, investigators have not released an official motive.
During an initial appearance in federal court in White Plains, prosecutors called Elders’ crimes “the height of recklessness,” and urged that he could have killed himself or others by harboring the bombs, CBS reported.
Elders’ defense lawyer told the courtroom that he struggles with addiction problems. A judge ultimately ordered him to be held in federal custody without bail.
Nearby resident Yulissa Severino told Lohud on Monday that she heard two loud booms overnight, similar to blasts heard in the neighborhood in recent weeks.
“Those other times I thought someone was going to blow up the block, it was so loud, like they were experimenting,” Severino said. “There’s a war going on, so you think about that.”
A second person initially taken into custody is being treated as a witness, WABC reported.
“We want to assure the residents of White Plains that their safety remains our highest priority. We can confirm that there are no explosive materials currently present in the first-floor apartment at 11 Odell Avenue, and that the immediate neighborhood is safe,” White Plains Commissioner of Public Safety Wade Hardy said in a statement.
“The subject of interest, who was taken into custody by the White Plains Police Department, is a White Plains resident—a white male in his 60s. This morning, he has been turned over to the FBI,” Hardy said.
The FBI New York office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
