Hannibal Man Accused of Making Pipe Bombs

ST. LOUIS – A man from Hannibal, Missouri appeared in court Thursday on charges accusing him of making and possessing pipe bombs.

Joshua Eugene Rickey, 33, was indicted October 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 the 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, and 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.

Rickey pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hannibal Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj is prosecuting the case.