Annapolis man federally charged in homemade explosives case

The Annapolis man arrested in April after authorities found more than 30 homemade explosive devices at his home now faces federal charges, according to online court records unsealed Friday.

Federal prosecutors charged Lee Scott Wygal Ralston, 37, with a single count of unlawfully receiving, producing or possessing a firearm or destructive device.

Until Thursday, Ralston had faced dozens of state charges of possessing and manufacturing explosive devices, but on the day he was due for trial, county prosecutors told the judge that they were relinquishing the case to the federal government.

The federal case, filed Oct. 9, was sealed until Ralston could be brought into custody. Federal prosecutors wrote in a filing Friday that the case could be unsealed because Ralston was apprehended, and a judge ordered it unsealed.

The federal complaint does not shed much new light on the case.

While searching Ralston’s home in the 1200 block of Blackwalnut Lane, local investigators found “suspected explosive devices,” said the Maryland Natural Resources Police, the agency charged with protecting fish and wildlife and enforcing laws on public lands and waterways.

There were 32 homemade devices, some designed to be detonated remotely and some containing BBs or flash powder, according to charging documents.

Ralston “was interviewed and confirmed he created the devices,” wrote Craig Tewell of the Anne Arundel County Fire Marshal Division in charging documents.

Benjamin Parker, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, wrote in an affidavit that Ralston said he created the explosive devices.

In addition to the 32 devices, officials seized “large vials” of explosive powder, a “large bag” of suspected flash powder, a bottle of “suspected homemade thermite,” multiple firearms and multiple homemade silencers, Parker wrote.

Ralston does not yet have a court date, according to online federal court records. No attorney was listed for Ralston, and his attorney for the state charges could not be reached immediately for comment.

A spokesperson for the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

Banner reporter Justin Fenton contributed to this story.