Exclusive: Pokemon cards tie man to explosions in Aberdeen; he talks to WJZ
BALTIMORE -- Occasional booms are fairly frequent in Aberdeen given that the U.S. Army's Proving Ground is nearby. But area residents knew something was wrong after hearing a series of explosions in their neighborhood.
"The percussion was so aggressive it actually shook my house and sent pictures flying off my wall," one neighborhood resident said.
The explosions became more frequent. They happened multiple times for weeks.
"Initially, they were happening during the day," the neighborhood resident said. "Then, they started happening later and later at night, getting louder and louder."
On Thursday, officers arrested Jeremiah Burnette, 34, in connection with late-night explosions that went on for weeks in an Aberdeen neighborhood.
He is charged with two counts of possessing a destructive device and two counts of using a destructive device.
A trail of Pokemon cards helped solve the case, the Maryland State Fire Marshal said.
Fire investigators say the Pokeman cards were found at the scene of an explosion along South Rogers Street early Tuesday.
Officers were sent to the intersection of South Rogers and James Street to investigate a report of a loud explosion around 3:30 a.m. that day. Investigators searched the area and found a crater near a wood line littered with Pokémon cards.
Officials said one of the responding officers remembered arresting Burnette a few days earlier and that he had a stack of Pokemon cards with him.
"It's definitely not out here to leave a calling card," Burnette told WJZ's Paul Gessler. "That's not my intention whatsoever. Now, I got people online calling me the 'Pokebomber.' It's kind of embarrassing honestly."
Multiple agencies including fire marshal bomb technicians and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms responded to the scene. Officials said Aberdeen police found several Pokémon cards and wrappers in the area.
A man told police he had argued with Burnette, and Burnette ended the conversation by saying "Boom," officials said. That man said a Pokémon card was found on his front step a few days later.
Burnette said he set off two explosives. They were M-80s that he got from a friend, he said.
Officials said Burnette admitted to detonating the devices, which investigators described as illegally manufactured explosive devices, commonly called M-80s, which are federally banned.
Burnette told Gessler that he didn't know they were illegal when he used them.
"I guess you could say, like a grown man—I don't want to say having fun, that sounds irresponsible," he said. "It was just like, 'Oooh! Explosion!'"
A search warrant was executed on Burnette's home on South Rogers Street, where officials found more Pokémon cards, and Burnette was arrested.
Police said Burnette didn't give a specific reason for detonating the explosives, and that he has no known affiliations with any group posing a threat to Homeland Security. No injuries were reported from the explosions.
Burnette was taken to Harford County Detention Center and released after posting a $10,000 personal unsecured bond, officials said.
"I do apologize," Burnette said of the explosions. "It wasn't intended to cause any problems or scare anybody. I have four kids myself."