Saturday update from foxnews.com:
The lawyer representing former West EMT Bryce Reed says his client will plead not guilty to a federal charge of possessing bomb making materials. Attorney Jonathan Sibley of Waco says Reed “had no involvement whatsoever in the explosion.”
Reed is accused in court documents of giving materials that included chemical powders to a man on April 26, and that man called authorities.
Friday 5 p.m. update:
WACO, Texas (AP) _ The paramedic from West charged with possessing bomb-making materials was dismissed from his position two days after the fertilizer plant explosion rocked the Central Texas town.
An email obtained by The Associated Press shows that the Texas Department of State Health Services was informed Friday that Bryce Reed was “let go” by West Emergency Medical Services April 19. The email was obtained under the Texas Public Information Act.
The email was written by an official with a regional EMS group. It says West EMS administrator Tom Marek asked that the state agency be notified.
Marek didn’t respond to a Friday phone message from the AP.
Reed was arrested early Friday and charged with possessing a destructive device. Law enforcement officials said they haven’t linked the charge to the blast.
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WACO, Texas (AP) _ A Texas paramedic who helped evacuate people on the night of the deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West has been charged with possessing bomb-making materials, including a pipe and chemicals.
A criminal complaint unsealed Friday says Bryce Reed has been charged with possession of a destructive device. The McLennan County Sheriff’s office says there’s no evidence at this time linking Reed’s arrest to the fire or explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. that killed 14 people.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent Douglas Kunze says in the complaint that sheriff’s deputies were called earlier this week to a home near West where they found a pipe, chemicals and fuses.
They say the objects belonged to Reed, who didn’t enter a plea when he appeared in court Friday.
Original story:
Authorities are not saying if an EMT from West arrested for possessing a destructive device is related to last month’s fertilizer plant explosion.
Bryce Reed, who was scheduled to appear in a Waco federal courtroom Friday, was one of the incident commanders following the April 17th blast.
The crater left behind had always been considered a crime scene, but officials had been referring to the incident as an industrial accident.
On Friday, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced they were launching a criminal probe. What inspired that decision was not revealed.
According to the Texas Department of Insurance, the origin of the fire was the inside the fertilizer and seed building and ammonium nitrate was the trigger for the explosion. Still unknown is how the explosion was initiated, what caused the fire that happened prior to the explosion, and the exact location of the fire’s origin.