Leesville Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Pipe Bombs

A Leesville man pled guilty Monday in federal court to possession of an improvised explosive bomb without registering the device, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said.

Shannon Alton Crapps, 42, admitted to making two pipe bombs and failing to register them properly, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

A Lexington County deputy responded to Crapps' house in Nov. 2009 concerning a possible meth lab, according to evidence presented at the change of plea hearing. The deputy had been told that two people were in a blue SUV with a meth lab.

When the deputy arrived, Crapps told him he didn't know who the two people were but that they had cooked meth and had just left, according to evidence. The officer asked for permission to search the house, and Crapps allowed it.

The officer smelled a strong chemical odor consistent with ether when he entered the house, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He then called narcotics agents. 

The narcotics agents found evidence of a meth lab in Crapps' house, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. They stopped their search and obtained a search warrant. 

When they returned with the warrant, they found evidence of chemicals and other substances and materials used to make meth, including two chemical sprayers, cans of ether, a one-gallon can of Coleman fuel, and rubber tubing, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The narcotics agents also found a burn pile next to the house which contained an 11-ounce can of Gumout starter fluid with holes in the bottom, burnt blister pakcs and packing film for lithium strips from batteries, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. They also found two improvised explosive devices (pipe bombs) inside a drawer near the front door. 

Crapps later admitted to making the devices and failing to properly register them. 

He could receive a maximum fine of $10,000 or 10 years in prison, plus a special assessment of $100, Nettles said. U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie will impose a sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. 

Assistant United States Attorney William K. Witherspoon and Jeffrey M. Johnson of the Columbia office handled the case.