A political consultant previously accused of possessing bomb materials in his San Francisco apartment has now been indicted on that charge and a new count of possessing a handgun with the serial number obliterated.
Ryan Kelly Chamberlain II, 42, was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco on Thursday on charges of possessing an unregistered destructive device and possessing a gun – identified as a .22 caliber Derringer pistol – with the serial number removed.
The indictment replaces a previous criminal complaint, filed June 2, that accused him of one count of possessing an illegal destructive device.
Chamberlain was arrested in San Francisco on the evening of June 2 following a three-day nationwide manhunt that began after FBI agents allegedly found the essential ingredients of a homemade bomb in his Nob Hill apartment on May 31.
Chamberlain, who has been in custody since then, was due to have a comprehensive mental health assessment while being held in jail in San Francisco this week.
He is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Nathaniel Cousins in San Francisco on Monday for a hearing on whether he should be held without bail while awaiting trial. At an earlier hearing on June 6, Cousins ordered the psychiatric evaluation.
The charge of possessing an illegal bomb carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and the gun charge carries a maximum of five years if Chamberlain is convicted.
Chamberlain is accused of possessing both devices on May 31, the day FBI agents searched his apartment. The alleged bomb materials were described in documents previously filed in the case, but the pistol was not mentioned in publicly available documents before the indictment.
In a June 1 affidavit supporting an arrest warrant, FBI agent Michael Eldridge alleged that bomb components found in the apartment included a power source, wire conductors, switching mechanism, shrapnel, and a remote controlled detonation system.
In an earlier affidavit filed with a search warrant application on May 30, Eldridge revealed that the investigation of Chamberlain resulted from a probe of sales of lethal biological agents over the Internet.
Eldridge alleged that Chamberlain bought two toxins, abrin and pure nicotine, through an anonymous Internet marketplace and had them shipped to a Ryan Kelly at Chamberlain’s address. The discovery of the two alleged shipments led to the request for a search warrant.
Julia Cheever, Bay City News
