Cops: Man stored chemicals for fireworks
Ronald Walker, 34, of East Moriches, is led out of Seventh Precinct in Shirley after being arrested on reckless endangerment charges. Chemical components used to make fireworks were found inside the garage of his parents' home, police said. (July 4, 2012) Credit: James Carbone
An East Moriches man was arraigned Wednesday on reckless endangerment charges after his family turned him in, saying he kept chemicals that could be used to make fireworks in their garage, Suffolk police said.
Ronald Walker, 34, had stored the chemicals in his parents' garage on Woodcrest Drive in East Moriches, police said.
He was held on a $150,000 cash bail and is scheduled to be back in First District Court in Central Islip Thursday. Judge John Kay issued an order of protection against Walker, barring him from returning to his parents' home.
Walker's brother discovered the chemicals in the garage on Tuesday, and the family called police, a news release stated.
In court, prosecutors said a hand-grenade launcher also was found in the garage. Neither police nor prosecutors were specific about the types of chemicals discovered or their amounts.
But Deputy Insp. Harold Jantzen said the different chemicals and storage method could have "caused substantial damage" if ignited. "These were not your commercial fireworks, packaged and imported for distribution," Jantzen said. "These were the chemicals in their raw form . . . stored with some other materials used to convert the chemicals into explosives."
He said some chemicals were deemed too dangerous to move and were disabled at the scene.
Officers from Emergency Service and the Seventh Precinct found several marked containers of the chemicals in the garage, along with "nonchemical components of homemade fireworks," the news release said.
Walker was arrested about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Greenport by Seventh Squad detectives, police said.
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