Stamford police say they're working with the FBI to determine what criminal charges to bring against the city man whose basement residence yielded the discovery of bomb-making materials during a health code violation inspection Wednesday.
Citing the ongoing investigation, Stamford Police Chief Jon Fontneau declined to identify the suspect, describing him as large man in his late 40s or early 50s. The man had been detained for a period before being released to family, Fontneau said. Criminal charges are expected soon, he said.
The chemicals found at 170-172 Vine Road hadn't yet been mixed to create an explosive compound, Fontneau said.
"I've been on hundreds, if not thousands of search warrants," Fontneau told Stamford Patch. "I've never seen anything like this.
Police discovered loaded weapons near entry points to the home, white supremacist and anti-police propaganda, a monitoring system to watch the outside of the home and a reinforced escape tunnel that ran underground through the backyard.
The violations at the home—located less than 700 feet from a middle school—unfolded Wednesday as police were assisting the Stamford Department of Health and Social Services serve a warrant. Director Anne Fountain said the department had received the initial complaint about the property in May, but initially had refused entrance to the home.
"We had received a complaint of an illegal dwelling with several code violations, but he wouldn't let us in," she said. "We'd been there a second time prior to [Wednesday]'s visit, so this was on ongoing complaint. We had to obtain a search warrant to access the home, which is why the police were present."
Fountain said after a police officer discovered explosives were possibly present, the officials were evacuated and the police took over the investigation.
Much of the literature and or disturbing posters present—items such swastikas and photographs of the Ku Klux Klan or police funerals—were not illegal to own or display, Fontneau said.
On Thursday morning, there were no signs of police activity in or around the residence and the police tape had been taken down. The backyard (see photos) was scattered with long boards of wood, yard equipment and window screens.
Chandra Johnson-Greene contributed to this report.
