Zephyrhills Man Accused Of Making Pipe Bomb, Selling It To Detective

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL — A Zephyrhills man has been arrested after being accused of making a pipe bomb and selling it to an undercover Pasco County sheriff's deputy.

This week, United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging James John Hall, 34, Zephyrhills with one count of unlicensed distribution of explosive materials, one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device and one count of unlawfully making a destructive device.

If convicted, Hall faces up to 10 years in federal prison on each count.

According to the complaint, on Nov. 1 and 2, Hall called a man he had sold firearms to in the past and offered to sell him a “pipe bomb” that he'd built. Hall told the man that he had contemplated using the “pipe bomb” to blow up a person with whom he was angry but decided to sell it instead.

Unknown to Hall, the man he called was a confidential informant for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

The informant reached out to the sheriff’s office, which then called in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the complaint.

Later in the evening on Nov. 2, the informant and an undercover Pasco sheriff’s detective met with Hall, and the detective purchased the “pipe bomb” as well as a Glock 17 pistol Hall offered to sell him, according to the affidavit.

When asked about future purchases, Hall indicated he “had enough to build six more (pipe bombs) now," according to the complaint. Hall also indicated that the device he was selling to the undercover detective had a magnet on the bottom because it was “meant for somebody else.”

The bomb was disassembled by ATF bomb technicians and a closer look revealed a metal pipe that was sealed at both ends (with end caps) and filled with what's believed to be pyrotechnic powder, with a pyrotechnic fuse inserted into one of the end caps. The pipe was taped to mixed explosive materials.