Man arrainged in Bemidji after blast

BEMIDJI -- Douglas Burdette Spies, 23, was arraigned in Beltrami County District Court Wednesday for felony unauthorized possession of explosive components.

A felony charge of causing an explosive device to be discharged was scheduled to be filed Thursday against a 16-year-old boy who allegedly set off the explosion. The boy is a juvenile, but because he is 16 and charged with a felony, his name and details of the alleged crime will be open to the public.

The incident was first reported as a medical emergency. The boy was admitted to North Country Regional Hospital with blast wounds to his hand and abdomen. Bemidji Police Sgt. Jeff Sladky said the explosive was a homemade substance called acetone peroxide putty.

When police officers arrived, the boy told them more explosives were in the house. Other residents of the apartment house were evacuated as law enforcement agents from the Bemidji and Brainerd police departments, Bloomington bomb squad, Arrowhead HazMat (hazardous materials) Team from Grand Rapids, and federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms from Grand Forks, N.D., searched the apartment for additional explosives.

Spies, formerly from Pequot Lakes, made bail Wednesday and was released from Beltrami County Jail.

Spies, who was charged for possessing the explosives, lived in the apartment where the explosion occurred but was not home at the time of the blast.