Department of Justice

United States Attorneys Office Western District of Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013 CONTACT: PAO DARYL FIELDS (210) 384-7440

FEDERAL CRIMINAL COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST WEST, TEXAS MAN CHARGING HIM WITH POSSESSION OF A DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE In Waco this morning, federal authorities filed a criminal complaint (Case #: W13-127M) charging 31-year-old Bryce Ashley Reed with unlawfully possessing an unregistered destructive device announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and ATF Special Agent in Charge Robert Champion. According to the complaint, on May 7, 2013, deputies from the McLennan County Sheriffs Office were dispatched to a residence in Abbott, Texas, where they discovered an assortment of bomb making components. The complaint alleges that Reed had given the components to the resident on April 26, 2013. ATF agents arrested Reed late yesterday afternoon in West. Reed had his initial appearance in federal court this morning in Waco. He remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on May 15, 2013, in Waco before United States Magistrate Judge Jeffrey C. Manske. Upon conviction, Reed faces up to ten years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. At this time authorities will not speculate whether the possession of the unregistered destructive device has any connection to the West fertilizer plant explosion on April 17, 2013. This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives together with the McLennan County Sheriffs Office, McLennan County District Attorneys Office, West Police Department, Texas State Fire Marshals Office and Texas Department of Insurance Fraud Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Frazier and Greg Gloff are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government. A criminal complaint is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. #####