AUSTIN, Texas — A man accused of having a pipe bomb that detonated in an Austin hospital parking garage in August pleaded guilty on Monday to possessing an unregistered destructive device.
According to court documents, Jonestown man Raymond Luke Garner, 38, parked his pickup truck in a parking garage at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin on Aug. 9. A short time later, there was an explosion in the back of his truck.
Investigators say the remains of a pipe bomb were found near Garner’s truck, as well as homemade high explosives, circuit boards and timers, electric matches and other items.
While he was detained by police, Garner allegedly asked someone to move a box out of his home. That box was later found to contain high explosives, precursor chemicals and electric matches, court documents say.
Garner admitted he was in possession of an unregistered destructive device on Aug. 9. On Monday, Aug. 14, Garner was released into the custody of a federal agency, according to the Travis County Sheriff's Office.
He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The ATF and FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force were the lead federal agencies investigating the case, with assistance from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, the Austin Police Department, the Austin Fire Department and the Cedar Park Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Karthik Srinivasan is prosecuting the case.