Homemade bomb, explosive materials found during investigation outside Baltimore Co. school

BALTIMORE -- A  man accused of planting a suspicious device near a Baltimore County middle school has formally been charged.

Joseph Richard Vickery, 43, from Mount Airy, has a slew of charges, including felony possession of explosive material with intent to create destructive device, manufacture of possession of destructive device and possession of explosive material without a license.

According to charging documents, Vickery had a homemade bomb and materials for making explosive devices in his truck near Pine Grove Middle School In Parkville and in his motel room 20 miles away in Woodlawn. 

A loaded handgun was also found in Vickery's car which was parked directly across from the entrance from the middle school.

Kristen Vickery, 39, was also arrested by Baltimore County police but has only been charged with a misdemeanor drug charge.

The charging documents stated that Mount Airy police was alerted to a man attempting to make a homemade explosive device. Officers in Mount Airy were alerted that Kristen Vickery texted to her mother that she saw Vickery looking up "how to make a flash bang, bombs, he has a gun and a crossbow, he just bought more."

Police received images of a large stainless steel pop on a portable electric hot plate, containing a cloudy liquid with blue particles floating, a strainer in a bathtub with blue granules, and Vickery carrying a plastic bucket into a hotel bathroom, and a bag of Scott's Turf builder Ultrafeed.

Kristen Vickery's mom told police the homemade bomb was believed to have been intended for her daughter. Vickery's phone was pinged by police, which led them to the Rodeway Inn on Whitehead Court in Woodlawn.

Vickery was arrested around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Pine Grove Middle School after his black 2001 Ford F-150 was searched. He told officers there was an explosive device in his truck.

Police said a suspicious device was found in a car near Pine Grove Middle School Tuesday afternoon.

"I'm terrified. I'm terrified," parent Chris Brown said.

Pine Grove Middle School students and Pine Grove Elementary students were evacuated and bused to another school for reunification with family.

On Tuesday night, police announced two arrests.

"These are community situations, and things that happen in the community sometimes spill over into the schoolhouse," said Baltimore County Superintendent Darryl Williams.    

About 20 miles away, police investigated a bomb threat at the Rodeway Inn.

Around 11:40 a.m., officers found Kristen Vickery leaving her room and was arrested for an outstanding warrant in Carroll County.

Police blocked the surrounding roads and forced guests out of their rooms. 

Chopper 13 flew over the scene as bomb squad used a robot to go into one of the rooms.

Baltimore County Police were still trying to determine the motive behind the threat and what charges the person of interest could potentially face.

"We're trying to figure out what the suspect actually intended and why they were in two separate areas," Baltimore County Police Department spokesman Det. Trae Corbin told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday evening.

Officers had performed controlled measures to investigate the suspicious device, which created a loud boom on Tuesday afternoon.

Police found receipts from nearby businesses showing Vickery purchased two propane cylinders, a coffee grinder, adhesive, caulk gun, 1000 count swabs, two stoves, Dremel Tool 110 piece all-purpose kit, radio controlled car, packaging material, orange rubber gloves, white t-shirt covered in black tape, black rubber gloves with a piece of copper wire and an Adventure Force Corvette Stingray RC car box.

"After examining the items recovered from the trash cans and reviewing the items purchased on the receipts, Detectives Davis and Kolb believed through their training, knowledge and experience that the items were precursors for manufacturing explosive devices, the charging documents stated.

Vickery admitted to researching IEDs on the internet using his cellphone and constructing the explosive device using a paper tube, ammonium nitrate from cold packs, aluminum foil, matches, wire, caulking and an RC car remote as an initiator. 

He also told police he previously attempted to use fertilizer to extract ammonium but was unsuccessful. He told officers he didn't attend to injure anyone and that he attended to detonate it in a remote area.

In Vickery's truck, police found a potentially improvised destructive device on the passenger side floorboard.

Around 2:50 p.m., bomb technicians searched the motel room and found aluminum foil, matches, fuses, coffee grinder, RC car, disassembled cellphone charging cord, jar of crushed matchsticks and caulk.