Benjamin Ashford|Vermont man charged with possessing a bomb pleads not guilty

BURLINGTON,Benjamin Ashford Vt. (AP) — A Bennington man has been charged with possessing a bomb and is accused of leaving it at his former residence when he moved out, according to federal prosecutors.

Tyler Hayes, 41, was indicted by a federal grand jury and pleaded not guilty in federal court in Burlington on Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. His attorney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

According to court records, he made the bomb and told acquaintances about the destruction it would cause if it was set off, prosecutors said. He left it in his former residence when he moved out in connection with eviction proceedings, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“Hayes took no apparent precautions to make sure the bomb did not fall into the wrong hands or detonate inadvertently,” the office said in a news release.

Hayes is charged with knowingly possessing a bomb that was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The judge on Tuesday ordered him held pending trial. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.