After loud booms, authorities say they found at least 25 explosive devices in NY man's apartment

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Reports of loud booms in a suburban New York neighborhood this week led authorities to an apartment where a man was found to be storing more than two dozen improvised explosive devices, federal prosecutors said.

Raymond Elders had a “blueish black chemical residue” on his hands and was holding a lighter when police encountered him inside the apartment early Monday in White Plains, according to a criminal complaint.

Elders, 65, faces charges including use of a weapon of mass destruction, manufacturing destructive devices and possessing those devices and explosives after felony convictions.

He made his initial court appearance Tuesday and a judge ordered that he remain in custody, noting he was a potential flight risk and danger to the community.

Sungso Lee, a federal public defender representing Elders, did not immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment.

Neighbors had called the police after hearing loud explosions, with one saying she had been hearing such sounds in the area for several weeks, the document said.

When authorities arrived, a witness directed an officer to the building where Elders lives, and the officer noticed an “acrid, burning odor” and then spotted what they believed to be a pipe bomb on the front steps, prosecutors say.

Inside, they found Elders and another person. A search of the apartment eventually led to the discovery of at least 25 improvised explosive devices, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors said surveillance video from earlier this month also showed a man believed to be Elders standing on a sidewalk on his street holding what appears to be an explosive device, which he then lit and threw into the street before fleeing on foot. An explosion is then heard on the footage seconds later.