A Buffalo man who walked into two local hardware stores with a length of galvanized steel pipe and asked if the stores sold “fuses” has been arrested on suspicion of making pipe bombs.
Tyler G. Roy, born in 2003, had his first court appearance Tuesday on a felony charge of possession of an explosive device and misdemeanor reckless endangering.
In interviews with Buffalo Police Department officers, Roy denied he was making dangerous explosives and that the devices found in a search of his home were just to make smoke, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in his case by Officer Matthew Wing of the BPD.
“During our conversation, he stated that he used to make pipe bombs that would emit smoke when he was a kid, and that he just recently decided to try again,” Wing wrote. “He also stated several times that he didn’t know it was illegal.”
The alleged pipe bomb-making materials were found in a Vans shoebox under a bed in the home he shares with his fiancée and young son, the affidavit says.
Along with two lengths of pipe, gunpowder and BB pellets, there were notes attached to the outside of the box that appear to be a diary of progress in building the devices, the affidavit says.
His fiancée told police that she knew about the box but had no clue it could potentially contain the components to make pipe bombs, the document says.
The woman never indicated to investigators “that she was aware of the bombs,” Wing wrote in the affidavit. “She did indicate she knew he had some pipe and other materials under the bed but wasn’t sure what they were for.”
However, the affidavit outlines that she also said Roy “has talked to her about how bombs work, and that he likes to talk about war.”
To The Hardware Store
Roy started to raise suspicion with employees at Buffalo Ace Hardware on Friday, the affidavit says.
“They explained that on Friday, a white male … was acting suspiciously and was caught attempting to steal a drill bit,” Wing wrote. “They decided to make him pay for the drill bit rather than call the police.”
While checking out, Roy also bought other items.
“He also paid for two ¾-inch galvanized threaded end caps and a 4- to 5-inch length of ¾-inch galvanized metal pipe,” according to the affidavit.
The next day, Roy returned to the Ace store.
“They further explained that on Saturday, the same male came into Ace looking to buy a fuse,” the affidavit says. “At that time, they explained to him that they do not sell anything like that, and he left.”
By Sunday morning, the workers at the store “were all talking and thought that they should call the police in case the male was attempting to make a pipe bomb,” Wing wrote. The worker “went on to explain that he knows someone at Bomgaars in Buffalo, and that the same male had gone there to look for a fuse as well.”
The folks at Bomgaars told the BPD that they also remembered Roy, who was there Saturday as well.
That employee told Wing “that a male wearing an orange jacket (which Roy also reportedly wore to the Ace store) had pulled a 4- to 5-inch capped pipe out of his pocket and (said) he needed a fuse for it,” the affidavit says.
He was told that Bomgaars doesn’t sell fuses, “to which he replied, ‘That’s OK, I have plenty of gunpowder. I’ll make my own,’” the account continues.
Roy then reportedly looked around the plumbing aisle and the clothing section and left without buying anything.
He Makes ‘Fireworks’
That was all revealed during his Sunday investigation, Wing wrote, adding that he identified Roy through images from the first hardware store and information from a customer loyalty card he used there.
After those hardware store interviews, “I concluded that it was highly likely that Tyler was attempting to build a pipe bomb,” he wrote in his affidavit, “so I applied for a search warrant to search Tyler’s residence.”
While waiting for a judge to sign the search warrant, police surveillance on the home saw Roy, his fiancée and son get into their car and drive away, so the vehicle was stopped.
An investigator explained to Roy the reason for the stop, and that, “Tyler gave consent to search the vehicle,” the affidavit says. “While the vehicle was being searched, Tyler made a spontaneous utterance that he makes ‘fireworks’ and fills pipes with gunpowder, puts the metal caps on, and places a fuse inside to create ‘smoke bombs.’”
That’s when he was arrested and transported to the Johnson County Detention Center.
After his initial court appearance Tuesday, Roy is next scheduled to be in court for a preliminary hearing on March 11, according to court records.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for possessing an explosive, and up to a year behind bars and a fine of up to $750 for the reckless endangering charge.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
