Federal prosecutors have taken up a case against a Gloucester man who allegedly planted and detonated a pipe bomb near Colonial Williamsburg in October.
Williamsburg-James City County prosecutors dropped two felony charges and a misdemeanor against Stephen James Powers, 30, on Thursday, Commonwealth’s Attorney Nate Green said.
The charges were dropped because prosecutors in the U.S. Eastern District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia decided to pursue the case on the federal level, Green said.
Powers has been indicted by a federal grand jury and his case can now head to trial in the U.S. district court. Green did not say what the specific federal charges were, but said they were similar to the state-level charges he had faced.
Powers was arrested Oct. 20 and charged with using a fake weapon for a terror act and possession of an explosive device after he allegedly planted and detonated a pipe bomb in a parking lot behind Berret’s Seafood, near Colonial Williamsburg.
The charges were nolle prossed in the Williamsburg-James City County General District Court, meaning prosecutors can bring back the charges if new evidence comes to light, although Green said it’s rare state and federal prosecutors will both prosecute the same case.
Federal prosecutors notified the local commonwealth’s attorney office that they planned to take up the case about a month ago, Green said. Federal agencies had been working with Green’s office to investigate the case since the incident in October.
“We knew it was a possibility all along,” Green added.
Green’s office did not drop the charges against Powers until he was indicted, however, to ensure custody of Powers was transferred directly from state to federal officials.
Powers will remain in custody at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail until custody is transferred to federal officials. He could be transferred to a federal facility or may stay at the VPRJ, Green said.
Since the October incident, Powers has had multiple court hearings regarding his mental health.
In February, a doctor told a district court judge he believed Powers was feigning mental illness.
In March, the same judge denied Powers hospitalization and ruled he was competent to stand trial, stating she didn’t “have the basis to hospitalize him.”
The case from past coverage
A criminal complaint filed in the Williamsburg-James City County General District Court indicates Powers’ first run-in with authorities was on Oct. 11 when the Williamsburg Fire Department and Colonial Williamsburg Department of Public Safety were called to the Colonial Williamsburg maintenance office.
Firefighters noted the air around the office appeared “hazy” and the basement “smelled like someone had just set off firecrackers,” the complaint said.
The next day, the Williamsburg Police Department was called to the area behind Chico’s in Merchants Square after Powers reported finding a note pinned to the exterior maintenance office door, according to the complaint.
The note read “I am sorry my device did not work last night. –D,” according to the complaint.
Two days later, on Oct. 14, Powers reported he found another handwritten note in the same space. Police reported the second letter made references to a deity from the old Hebrew Bible called “Adramelech,” complaint states.
Police later determined Powers to be the only person with the knowledge to write the second note, based on Powers’ own statements, the complaint said.
The deity is known for a brief passage in the Hebrew Bible 2 Kings Chapter 17:31 which reads: “… and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.”
Powers told police the only people who knew the meaning of “Adramelech” were those who “served with overseas,” according to the criminal complaint. He added all those he served with either died overseas, or were in jail after he testified against them.
Police later determined Powers did not serve overseas in Iraq as he had claimed, the complaint reads. Instead, Powers served as an active-duty Department of Defense civilian dental technician from 2006-2007, according to the complaint.
On Oct. 17, Powers said he was told to stay at home from work by a superior. The following day he reported receiving a letter in his mail box, and a Gloucester investigator interviewed Powers on Oct. 19, the day an IED was detonated in Merchants Square, the complaint read.
Williamsburg Police and Fire Departments responded to the explosion at 5:04 p.m. Thursday, according to the complaint. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Virginia State Police responded as well, and determined that a pipe bomb had detonated.
The bomb appeared to have been placed under mulch, the complaint read. The three trees growing in the mulch were decorated with lights and brown wiring was found in the area of the explosion. One of the wires was plugged into the lights and frayed on the other end.
The parking lot where the explosion occurred is adjacent to the door where Powers said he found the notes. FBI agents interviewed Powers at his Gloucester home, according to the complaint.
Powers stated he had been on the phone with a Colonial Williamsburg employee who had given him a “play by play” of the events as they unfolded, according to the complaint. He told investigators he had been on the Colonial Parkway to pick up his wife at the time of the blast.
According to the complaint, his wife worked in the opposite direction of where he said he needed to pick her up.
Powers told investigators he had access to the timer on the tree lights and had accessed them the week of Oct. 7. He also asked if there had been any property damage, without being prompted by investigators.
The criminal complaint also claimed that Powers told investigators his credit card had been stolen. He had found a purchase made on Oct. 16 for $120, which he said he did not make.
An investigator traced the last purchase of the Powers’ allegedly stolen credit card to the Bass Pro Shop in Hampton, according to the complaint.
The investigator found “video evidence” of Powers and his one-year-old son in the sporting goods store on Oct. 16, the complaint read.
Powers purchased three plastic jars of “Benchmark Smokeless” powder during that visit to the store, according to the complaint. After the purchase, Powers reported the card stolen, the complaint read.
Powers consented to have his house searched “to check the house outside and inside…to make sure there was nothing that could harm him or his family,” according to the complaint.
During the search, police found alleged pipe bomb making materials that were similar to the debris found near Berret’s Seafood, the complaint read.
Also in the search, police found “in plain view” bomb making materials: electrical tape, multimeter, wire cutters, two paint cans with holes in the top, and a model rocket initiator, according to the complaint.
Powers later told police the materials were for a “homemade shot gun and he learned how to make it on You Tube,” according to the complaint.
A judge denied Powers bond in the Williamsburg-James City County General District Court Monday morning during an arraignment. During the morning hearing, the judge also appointed public defense attorney John Konstantinou to represent Powers in court. Konstantinou declined to comment on the case Monday.
Court records state Powers worked for Colonial Williamsburg for over two years, but Powers said during the hearing he had not been at work for a week and a half.
It is not clear whether Colonial Williamsburg’s recent restructuring and outsourcing of operations affected Powers’ employment as a maintenance man at the company. Colonial Williamsburg has declined to comment on the case.
Court documents state his job with Colonial Williamsburg is his only financial resource.
Powers and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after incurring nearly $45,000 of medical, tax and credit card debt.
Related Coverage:
- Bankruptcy filings for IED suspect show unpaid medical bills, crippling debt
- Man charged in IED explosion was Colonial Williamsburg employee, documents say
- Investigators classify IED explosion near CW as criminal
- Police: Improvised explosive device detonated near Colonial Williamsburg
- Police investigate possible explosive device near Colonial Williamsburg
WYDaily archives were used in this story
