Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Provo man accused of taking a "cricket bomb" to a downtown federal building will remain behind bars while he has a mental health evaluation.
Brandon E. Bushnell, 33, allegedly had the explosive in his jacket pocket as he entered the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building for an appeal hearing on the denial of Social Security benefits last Thursday. The bomb was discovered during a routine security screening, according a criminal complaint.
"This is the kind of device that was used in the Columbine High School attack," prosecutor Carol Dain told U.S. Magistrate Judge Evelyn Furse.
The small "cricket bomb" consisted of a "carbon dioxide cartridge as the container for explosives" with a fuse sticking out of it, the complaint states. An X-ray later conducted on the cartridge revealed apparent explosive powder, investigators said.
Bushnell said the material inside the cartridge was "flower dust," a "lay term for pyrotechnic composition found inside consumer fireworks," the charges state.
Dain argued that Bushnell should remain in jail because he's a danger to the community and to himself. She said he told federal agents three times after his arrest that he would kill himself if he were charged with a crime.
Defense attorney Ben Hamilton said Bushnell deals with anxiety and depression but is not currently suicidal. He said Bushnell needs to be with his family because that calms him down, noting his mother and three sisters in the courtroom.
"Brandon, I love you with all my heart," his mother told him after the hearing.
Bushnell was seeking Social Security benefits because he has health problems that keep him from working, Hamilton said.
Dain said Bushnell's "volatility" is concerning. She said she didn't want to "ride the coattails" of the past week, referring to the Paris bombings, but said that is the reality of the situation.
Furse found that Bushnell poses a risk for harm to himself and the community. She ordered a mental health exam be done while he's held in jail. She scheduled an arraignment for Dec. 3.
Bushnell is charged with one count of unlawful possession of an explosive in a federal building. It carries a five-year prison term and up to a $250,000 fine.
The discovery of the device forced the evacuation of the entire building for nearly three hours while a Salt Lake police bomb squad unit examined it.
