Maplewood man, 27, pleads guilty to having homemade pipe bombs, explosive powder

A Maplewood man has admitted to possessing homemade pipe bombs that were in photos on someone else's cellphone left behind in a downtown Minneapolis strip club and turned over to police in Savage.

Dylan Orr, 27, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection with federal agents confiscating the devices on April 28 from his home in the 1200 block of Bobcat Lane.

Orr remains in federal custody in the Sherburne County jail awaiting sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled.

The plea agreement between Orr and prosecutors says that federal guidelines recommend a prison sentence of two to 2½ years. However, federal judges have wide discretion and are not bound by the guidelines.

Orr's attorney, Robert Lengeling, said Thursday that his client "accepts responsibility for his mistakes."

The criminal complaint did not point to a motive for Orr having the pipe bombs.

"This does not appear to be a politically motivated situation," Lengeling said. However, a related filing in Scott County District Court includes references that can be construed to be political.

The strip club employee, who lived in Savage, told police that she looked at the phone to determine its owner and found a contact card saying it belonged to someone other than Orr, according to a search warrant affidavit filed by police seeking court permission to search the phone.

The employee said she also saw photos of what appeared to be pipe bombs and text messages between the owner and Orr referencing "Headquarters" and pictures of Nazi flags and swastikas, the filing continued. One text from Orr said he was going to "shoot it out" with law enforcement, the affidavit read.

Asked on Thursday about the affidavit, Lengeling attributed the troubling content to someone he would not identify who lived with Orr and is now dead.

"He disavows any of that," Lengeling said, while declining to elaborate about how the content appeared on his client's phone. "He doesn't believe any of that stuff."

According to the complaint:

On April 25, a lost cellphone was turned in to the Savage Police Department by the employee of Rick's Cabaret who lives in that Scott County suburb.

Police searched the phone and saw text messages from February and March to its owner showing blueprints and information about how to build a pipe bomb and photos of pipe bombs with BBs attached to casing with tape in an effort to enhance the impact when detonated. One photo included a piece of mail with Orr's address on it.

An agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched Orr's home, recovered two pipe bombs along with four end caps and 12¼ ounces of explosive powder in a bag.

Testing by experts with the Minnesota Army National Guard in St. Paul indicated the presence of nitroglycerin and nitrate on an end cap and a pipe bomb casing, and nitrate in the powder.