Explosives removed from Valley apartment

Explosives popular among suicide bombers were removed Monday from a Spokane Valley apartment belonging to a man upset about his divorce, authorities said.

John D. Raymond, 53, allowed detectives into his home at the Oakwood Club Apartments, 726 N. McDonald Road, and showed them the material, which was stored in a glass jar, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

The apartment complex had been evacuated but officials expected to begin letting residents into their units later that night. Residents along the west side of Broadway Avenue were asked to stay inside, and a portion of McDonald Road was blocked.

Raymond is expected to appear in Spokane County Superior Court today via video from the jail. He’s charged with unlawful manufacture/possession of an incendiary device.

A bomb squad planned to detonate the estimated half pound of “very potent, very unstable explosives,” identified as triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, in a secure location, said Sgt. Dave Reagan.

The material was removed from Raymond’s home by a robot about 8 p.m. Raymond, who is in a wheelchair, was transported by ambulance to the Spokane County Jail, where he was booked on a civil bench warrant.

He faces possible criminal charges related to manufacturing and possession of explosives, Reagan said.

It was unclear what initially brought Raymond to the attention of law enforcement, but Reagan said detectives learned he was upset about his divorce proceedings in Spokane County Superior Court and might be building bombs.

The substance found in the man’s home is was used by would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid in 2001 and the terrorists who carried out the London bombings in 2005 that killed 52 people, according to the Associated Press.