Acting on tips from several people, two Mower County deputies went Thursday evening to Kevin Reed's home in Rose Creek.
Once allowed in by Reed, one of the deputies 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 court documents.
Then they arrested the 47-year-old Reed, called for the Bloomington, Minn., Police Department's bomb squad and evacuated about 10 nearby homes.
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 at 100 Fourth St. N.W., along with numerous other items, including a wooden box labeled "Danger Boom" that contained shrapnel, mercury, wire and a timer, according to criminal complaint.
Reed appeared Tuesday afternoon in Mower District Court on 18 felony charges, including 10 counts of possessing an explosive or incendiary device (previous conviction of a violent crime) in relation to 10 pipe bombs, nine of which were described as "small."
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Bomb-squad members detonated "several" of the explosive devices in a field near Reed's home, the complaint says.
Reed, who has a 1984 felony conviction for burglary in Freeborn County, also faces seven counts of being a felon convicted of a violent crime in possession of a firearm along with one count of possessing explosives without a valid license or permit.
Judge Fred Wellmann set bail for Reed at $1 million without conditions or $500,000 with conditions, including that Reed be monitored by a global-positioning system.
The judge read aloud the counts filed against Reed, who laughed a few times during the proceeding.
"I don't deny the rifles," Reed said, with a laugh, after the judge read the counts related to possessing firearms.
When asked later if he wanted a bail study, Reed replied, "Oh yes," and laughed.
According to the complaint, two people, including one of Reed's relatives, reported about 11 p.m. May 26 that Reed possessed 14 bricks of explosives at his residence. The relative said Reed has mental issues and has become "very paranoid," the complaint says.
The relative also said Reed has shown the explosives to friends and has loaded firearms around his home, the complaint says, with many weapons in boxes secured to Reed's bed.
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A third person told a deputy Reed has caches of weapons in his home and used to "show off" the explosives to her boyfriends.
The following day, deputies went to Reed's home, where he allegedly admitted owning firearms but said they were locked in storage except for maybe a pellet gun in his bedroom.
Authorities overall reported finding seven firearms in Reed's bedroom.
After his arrest and prior to the bomb squad's arrival, Reed told authorities he acquired the firearms to give to his 19-year-old son, who was at the home, but denied having any explosive devices, the complaint says. Reed allegedly claimed to have knife and coin collections in the boxes under his bed.
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 of the pipe bombs "was fully fused and armed," the complaint says, and the bomb squad also found a "blasting cap" mixed in with the electric fuses.
Evacuated residents had to stay out of their homes for several hours, starting about 8 p.m. The last resident was allowed back after midnight.
Reed returns June 10 to court.
