Maryland man gets time served after plea in case where blasting caps found in basement

A Maryland man with local West Virginia ties recently received time served in a case in which blasting caps were found in a Hagerstown-area basement.

Stephen Kyle Thompson, 48, of Calvert County, Md., pleaded guilty on March 15 in Washington County Circuit Court to one count of storing an explosive device, according to court documents.

Retired Judge Daniel P. Dwyer sentenced Thompson to one year at the Washington County Detention Center, suspending all but the 51 days Thompson had already served, according to court documents.

Defense attorney David Harbin, in a text, said "Mr. Thompson is happy to be able to put this matter behind him."

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Seven other counts of storing a destructive device as well as charges of theft and possessing explosives without a license were dismissed, according to Thompson's case docket.

The maximum penalty for storing an explosive device is 25 years in state prison and/or a $250,000 fine.

Thompson's charging documents, filed last July, list a Hedgesville, W.Va., address. His case docket lists an address in Calvert County in Southern Maryland.

How were the explosives discovered?

A state fire marshal was called to a home in the 12700 block of Greencastle Pike, north of Huyetts Crossroads, around 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 16, according to charging documents.

Thompson's estranged wife told authorities she was cleaning his basement so he could easily remove what was his when she found a plastic bag with eight cardboard tubes containing items wrapped in pink foam, according to charging documents.

When she removed one of the items from a tube she saw "explosive" on the side of what looked like a coated tube with two wires covered with a plastic tube, charging documents state.

She put the item down, called state police and was advised to evacuate the home. She was waiting outside with her children and dogs when a state fire marshal arrived.

The fire marshal identified a blasting cap and caps that "were still live/charges and intact," charging documents state. He shunted the caps to protect them from electric or static charge, which could have discharged the caps, and removed them from the home.

The fire marshal also confirmed with the office's bomb squad that Thompson does not have an explosive license and was prohibited from possessing explosives, according to court records.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Md. man gets time served after blasting caps found in Hagerstown home