Maximilien Reynolds, 21, came to the attention of authorities when an employee of the Walmart store in Ithaca, New York, contacted the Ithaca Police Department on March 7 to report a suspicious purchase. A man later identified as Reynolds had used a gift card to buy ammunition, knives, drill bits, hacksaw blades, camping gear, tools, and other items.
FBI agents visit Reynolds’ apartment after Walmart employee reports suspicious purchase
According to the complaint, two local FBI agents and an officer from the Ithaca Police Department were dispatched to his apartment around 2 p.m. the same day.
Reynolds wasn’t home at the time but his girlfriend answered the door and invited the officers into the apartment. She told them that he was probably at Tompkins Cortland Community College where he was taking a class. Reynolds’ girlfriend said that she was worried about him because he seemed to be “manic, not taking his medications, and getting very little sleep”. Reynolds was on a leave of absence from Cornell University.
The small apartment was in severe disarray
The officers reported that the small apartment was in “severe disarray, with random piles of clothing, food, laboratory glassware, and other items strewn about.” There were mathematical writings written on the windows in red ink. They observed a bulletproof vest in plain view along with military-style clothing, knives, flashlights, and a gas mask.
Reynolds consents to a search of his apartment
The officers left but returned several hours later. Reynolds agreed to speak to them and admitted that he had purchased ammunition at Walmart earlier in the day, that he had a rifle in the apartment, and that he had purchased the hacksaw blades to shorten the barrel of the rifle. Reynolds consented to a search of his apartment and the officers found the rifle and a homemade silencer.
The gun was a semi automatic rifle capable of firing 30 rounds. It was manufactured by the Savage Arms company which was founded in 1894 in Utica, New York.
During a second search of the apartment, law enforcement officers found a suspected homemade bomb, over 300 rounds of live ammunition, high-capacity magazine clips, two sets of ballistic body armor, and assorted bomb-making materials.
The alleged homemade bomb was crafted from a consumer firework “mortar” round that had been modified with steel shot taped to the outside of the device to cause fragmentation. Authorities found additional bomb-making materials in two self-storage units rented by Reynolds in Ithaca.
The illegal gun purchase
Investigators later determined that Reynolds had paid a man $200 to buy the rifle for him in the fall of 2017. It was purchased from a local federally licensed firearms dealer. When questioned by authorities, the straw buyer stated that Reynolds had told him that he was prohibited from purchasing a firearm.
Mental health issues
In June of 2016, Reynolds was detained under Section 941 of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law. The law allows a police officer to take a person into custody if he appears to be mentally ill and is conducting himself in a manner which is likely to result in serious harm to himself or others.
Federal law prohibits any person who has been committed to a mental institution or deemed to be a danger to himself or others from purchasing a firearm.
On the day of his arrest, Reynolds agreed to be taken to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Shortly after his arrest, Reynolds’ attorney notified the government that his client intended to rely on the insanity defense. In August, a judge ruled that Reynolds was competent to stand trial based on the results of a court-ordered mental health evaluation.
The criminal charges
Reynolds has been charged with possession of an unregistered silencer, possession of an unregistered destructive device (bomb), making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, and making a false statement in a required firearm record. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Update: Reynolds pled guilty to two charges on November 13.