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    • A Florida man has been charged after explosives were found hidden in casino restrooms
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    A Florida man has been charged after explosives were found hidden in casino restrooms

    Online Niel Posted on

    The investigation began Sept. 30 in Tampa after someone hid two of the radio-controlled explosives in two restrooms at a local casino. Employees found them before they could cause any harm.

    A Florida man has been arrested after allegedly hiding radio-controlled explosive devices in the restrooms of a casino, local authorities said.

    Bryan Robert Eckley, 46, of Tampa, was charged with two counts of making, possessing, throwing, designing, placing or discharging a destructive device, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Thursday.

    “Eckley did everything he could to hide from law enforcement,” said Mark Brutnell, the department’s special agent in charge in Tampa Bay. press release. “But thanks to the exceptional work of this investigative and forensic team, he will be held accountable for his actions.”

    Eckley is currently represented by the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office. USA TODAY reached out to the office Friday but did not receive a response.

    Authorities did not say which of the Tampa casinos the explosives were hidden in.

    How was Bryan Eckley identified?

    The investigation into Eckley began Sept. 30 in Tampa after someone hid two of the radio-controlled explosives in two restrooms at a local casino, according to the department. Employees found the devices before they caused damage, the agency added.

    Several clues helped investigators identify the suspect as a man driving a white Ford Explorer. Interviews, surveillance and analytical work led them to identify Eckley, according to the agency.

    Days before he planted the explosive devices in September, Eckley was arrested by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in an unrelated aggravated assault with a firearm case, the agency said. According to the press release, forensic analysts linked the evidence from that case to explosives.

    Eckley was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail. He is currently without bond and his pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5, inmate and court records show.

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