Hannibal man pleads not guilty to making, possessing pipe bombs

ST. LOUIS – A Hannibal man appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of making and possessing pipe bombs.

U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming with the Eastern District of Missouri said in a press release that Joshua Eugene Rickey, 33, was indicted Oct. 26 on one felony count of possession of one or more unregistered destructive devices and one count of manufacturing one or more unregistered destructive devices.

The indictment accuses Rickey of manufacturing pipe bombs between July 4 and August 14 and possessing bombs on August 14.

In a detention motion and in court Thursday, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj said police learned about the pipe bombs after a domestic disturbance. Some were made of PVC pipe, and others of galvanized pipe. Przulj said Rickey was leaving them where they could do harm to others. Rickey had set one off and thrown another into a brush-filled trailer near his grandmother’s house. Investigators found pipe bombs of various sizes our in his home, the motion says, one of which had to be destroyed because it was not safe.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hannibal Police Department.