A Mower County judge has ordered a mental-health evaluation for a Rose Creek man accused of possessing 10 pipe bombs and seven firearms at his residence last month.
At a court hearing Thursday, Judge Donald E. Rysavy ordered a psychologist to determine 47-year-old Kevin Duane Reed's competency to stand trial, Mower District Court records show.
Reed's attorney, Paul Spyhalski of Austin, filed a motion requesting the evaluation for Reed, who is facing 18 felony charges, including 10 counts of possessing an explosive or incendiary device (previous conviction of a violent crime).
Other charges include seven counts of being a felon convicted of a violent crime in possession of a firearm and one count of possessing explosives without a valid license or permit.
In his motion, Spyhalski wrote that one of the law-enforcement incident reports indicates Reed was boasting "that his military file lists him as clinically insane." The same police report indicates Reed has paranoia requiring preparations for self-defense, such as strategic lighting and weapons caches, Spyhalski wrote.
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Spyhalski stated he thinks a mental-health evaluation is appropriate based on the criminal charges, statements in reports and a jail meeting he had with Reed.
Reed's next court hearing will be set once the report is filed by a psychologist.
On May 29, Mower County sheriff's deputies arrested Reed after going to his home to follow up on tips inidicating Reed was in possession of explosives, having mental issues and acting paranoid.
Once allowed inside the home by Reed, a deputy saw inside Reed's bedroom a shotgun, assault rifle and three secured boxes, along with wires and small electronic parts scattered on the floor, according to the criminal complaint.
After Reed's arrest, authorities called for the Bloomington (Minn.) Police Department's bomb squad and evacuated about 10 nearby homes in Rose Creek for several hours. The bomb squad detonated "several" of the explosive devices in a field near Reed's home.
Ten pipe bombs, seven firearms, a 43-ounce container of gun powder and literature on bomb and incendiary devices were seized from Reed's home along with numerous other items, including a wooden box labeled "Danger Boom" that contained shrapnel, mercury, wire and a timer, the complaint says.
Other items removed from Reed's home included timers, trip wires, shrapnel, detonators, a case with shotgun shells, model-rocket igniters, liquid "Matchless Fire," chemicals, a bag of cannon fuse, two jars of a granular chemical and marijuana drug paraphernalia, the complaint says.
Bomb-squad officials advised that the materials and devices were consistent with materials used to make explosives. One pipe bomb "was fully fused and armed," the complaint says, and the bomb squad also found a "blasting cap" mixed in with the electric fuses.
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Reed, who has a 1984 felony conviction for burglary in Freeborn County, remains in custody with bail set at $1 million without conditions or $500,000 with conditions.
