Maryland man wanted for neighborhood explosions identified through Pokémon cards

ABERDEEN, Md. — A 34-year-old man is in custody after several explosions had shaken an Aberdeen neighborhood over the past several weeks. The Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal said the man was identified thanks to Pokémon cards.

A joint investigation between the fire marshal, Aberdeen Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms, and Explosives resulted in the arrest of Jeremiah E. Burnette. He was charged with possessing and using an explosive device after police received a call of an explosion Tuesday morning.

Officers responded to the area of South Rogers and James Street for a loud explosion around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. Residents in the same area had been reporting hearing explosions in the middle of the night since mid-May. Responding officers discovered a crater near a wood line littered with Pokémon cards. 

One of the officers on scene recalled arresting Burnette a few days before with a stack of Pokémon cards on him. Coincidentally, someone had called police the same day to say he had argued with Burnette. The conversation ended with Burnette saying "Boom," according to a release from the Maryland State Fire Marshal. The same person found a Pokémon card on his front step a few days later.

At the scene of the explosion, investigators found several Pokémon cards and wrappers in the area and other evidence connecting Burnette to the explosion, the fire marshal's office said. A search warrant was conducted on Burnette's home, where several more packages of cards were found, and Burnette was arrested. 

During questioning, Burnette told investigators he was the one who had detonated the devices. Investigators describe the devices as Illegally manufactured explosive devices, commonly called M-80s, which are federally banned.

Burnette gave no specific reason for detonating the explosives. While the investigation continues, there is no evidence of Burnette being affiliated with any group posing a threat to Homeland Security, and no injuries occurred during the explosions, the fire marshal's office reported.

Burnette was charged with two counts of possessing a destructive device and two counts of using a destructive device.