A guy from Burleson, Texas, who taught himself how to build and explode illegal bombs and entered a guilty plea in July to charges of possessing firearms and child pornography, was given a 14-year prison sentence.
U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced 22-year-old Noah Robert Calderon to 14 years in prison and mandated that he be placed on supervised release for 30 years after serving his sentence, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
A tip on Calderon’s online behaviour, which revealed his fascination with mass shootings, especially the 1999 Columbine massacre, was sent to the FBI in October 2022. According to reports, he also uploaded images of himself sporting tactical outfits and gripping guns.
In March, authorities received another tip that Calderon had set off a homemade bomb in his neighbourhood.
After looking through Calderon’s internet searches, investigators found that he had done a lot of studies on the public schools in the area of his home.
According to the DOJ, the search turned up questions about the Charleston church shooter, the Columbine killers, and how to manufacture propane and pipe bombs.
According to the DOJ, he also acknowledged keeping approximately 660 grammes of explosive powder, a lighter, a cannon fuse, cardboard tubing, a glass jar labelled “frag” that contained lead and metal ball bearings, a funnel, and measuring spoons in his garage.
During the course of the investigation, officials examined Calderon’s phone and discovered sexually explicit videos from a video chat he had with a 13-year-old girl. According to the DOJ, in plea agreements, Calderon acknowledged knowing the girl’s age at the time he saved the videos.
“Today’s sentence is a shared success with the community who heeded the call to action to report suspicious activity when they saw suspicious activity,” Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough said. “The information shared with law enforcement exhibited a distinctive pathway to further violence, that was ultimately thwarted by law enforcement and led to multiple federal charges.”
