Ohio man arrested after investigators uncover IED close to soccer advanced

[ad_1] A Mason, Ohio, man was arrested for allegedly possessing a damaging system after an investigation into an improvised explosive system (IED) discovered at a soccer advanced led to the invention of bomb-making supplies.

James River Phillips, 20, was arrested Thursday by the FBI Cincinnati Area Workplace’s Joint Terrorism Job Pressure and charged with possession of an unregistered gun and possession of a damaging system.

The arrest comes after the duty power carried out a federal court-ordered search in Mason that morning.

"The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Job Pressure arrested James River Phillips after he allegedly possessed a harmful damaging system," FBI Cincinnati Particular Agent in Cost Elena Iatarola mentioned. "The FBI and our companions labored collectively to make sure his actions have been stopped earlier than there was any danger to public security."

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An Ohio man is accused of possessing an unregistered damaging system after an investigation was carried out by the FBI and native police. The images present an IED, a detonator and what's believed to be explosive white powder. (Federal Affidavit)

In line with an affidavit filed in opposition to Phillips, a Lebanon, Ohio, police officer found an IED at a soccer advanced at about 12:30 a.m. Sept. 22, 2024.

Simply earlier than the invention, the officer noticed two males of their early 20s leaving the parking zone of the advanced in a silver SUV, which was initially parked within the lot. The driving force was described by police as having lengthy curly hair.

The officer made a visitors cease and instructed the 2 males to go away the parking zone because the advanced was closed, the affidavit famous.

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As soon as the 2 males left, the officer continued to drive within the parking zone and positioned an IED the place the SUV had been parked, courtroom paperwork allege.

"The IED had wires operating from a pile of white powder to a management change," the affidavit states. "The management change had a purple mild on when the LPD Officer found the IED. After encountering the system, the LPD Officer tried to find the 2 males however couldn't. The officer contacted Butler County Bomb Squad (BCBS) to grab the IED."

BCBS found that the residue on the system contained nickel hydrazine nitrate, whereas the white powder contained erythritol tetranitrate.

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Images recovered from iCloud seem to indicate Phillips was making explosive gadgets within the shed. There have been three images present in Phillips’ iCloud account taken Feb. 26, 2024, that seem to indicate an explosive system that was constructed within the shed. (Federal Affidavit)

As they examined the IED detonator, it exploded, breaking the hand-held chemical identification system.

With the FBI’s help , investigators used mobile information to trace Phillips’ telephone to the parking zone between 12:15 a.m. and 12:21 a.m. The identical telephone allegedly despatched two texts shortly after the SUV encountered police, one at 12:36 a.m. and the opposite at 12:40 a.m.

On Dec. 2, 2024, Phillips reportedly received a driver’s license picture, which the affidavit mentioned reveals him with the identical curly hair the officer noticed when he encountered the motive force.

Investigators executed a search warrant on the Apple iCloud account related to the telephone, which resulted in a video from April 5, 2024, exhibiting two unidentified males in a parking zone below streetlights, close to transportable restrooms and a soccer internet.

One of many males might be heard counting down to at least one, earlier than an explosive system detonated. In one other video showing to be from the identical incident, an unidentified man says, "James, we gotta go," and "James, come on."

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Inside images of the shed recovered from iCloud seem to indicate the shed accommodates operating electrical energy, racks for glass beakers, heated magnetic mixers and unknown chemical substances and powders. (Federal Affidavit)

The video then reveals a gap within the floor, which investigators say was the results of the earlier explosion. The 2 males are then seen selecting up the particles and leftover elements. GPS information from the metadata of the video reveals the video was shot within the parking zone of the identical soccer advanced in Lebanon, the place the police officer encountered the IED months later, the affidavit notes.

Extra images and movies of explosions have been reportedly discovered on the iCloud account from July 21, 2024, together with the destruction of a automotive.

In one of many movies, investigators wrote, Phillips is seen holding a detonation system as one other man counts down from 5 to at least one.

"After Phillips presses the detonation system, a big explosion is heard within the distance, and an unidentified male will be heard saying, ‘It blew the automotive above the tree line,’" the affidavit mentioned. "Extra images and movies taken on July 21, 2024, present an explosion adopted by images of the destruction of a automotive that gave the impression to be destroyed from the explosion."

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The investigation later revealed to detectives that Phillips purchased "precursor chemical substances and supplies for do-it-yourself explosives," which have been shipped to his house in Mason and one other residence of his in Oxford.