A man said his mother threw him "under the bus" when she alerted authorities to pipe bombs she found in the basement of her Philadelphia home, according to federal authorities.
Michael Beer is due in court at 1:30 p.m. today to face charges filed after his mother alerted authorities to pipe bombs he allegedly left in her home.
According to an affidavit obtained by NBC10.com, police were called to Beer's former home on the 6100 block of Shisler Street in Philadelphia's Oxford Circle neighborhood Thursday morning after they got a call from his mother Cecilia Beer, who still lives at the residence.
Authorities say Cecilia Beer was going through some of the things her son left behind after he moved in with his girlfriend when she saw what appeared to be a pipe bomb and called the Philadelphia Police bomb squad.
The bomb squad eventually found six cylinders about 14 inches in diameter and sealed at each end. One of those cylinders had a "hobby type" fuse protruding from one end and appeared to be live.
One pipe bomb exploded as the bomb squad tried to diffuse it, sending debris into the air. An inspection of the debris "showed that it had contained an unknown suspected propellant and several shotgun shells," according to the affidavit.
During a monitored call, Michael Beer, 36, admitted that the bombs belonged to him, saying "I don't know what the big deal is," according to investigators.
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Beer also said his mother, "threw me under the bus."
ATF agents and Pennsylvania State Police eventually tracked down Beer in the Northampton County home where he now lives and arrested him around 10 p.m. Thursday, according to ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Anthony Tropea.
Tropea said he doesn't believe the bombs had anything to do with terrorism.
Beer, however, was charged with possession of a destructive device. If he is federally indicted he could face up to 10 years in prison.
