Affidavit: Marissa man told police he built pipe bomb and what he wanted to do with it
A 49-year-old Marissa man told local, state and federal investigators he built a pipe bomb and brought it to South Marissa Trailer Park early Saturday, April 29, to blow up his wife’s car but instead threw it at three people who confronted him with knives, according to a recently unsealed FBI affidavit.
The device did not detonate and no one was injured, according to authorities. Local law enforcement, Scott Air Force Base’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, a state bomb squad and the FBI responded to the area to close roads, evacuate trailers and neutralize the device.
Jim F. Lanier was arrested this month and charged in both federal court and St. Clair County with the following offenses:
Unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device in U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Three counts of possession of an explosive or incendiary device in St. Clair County Circuit Court.
An attorney is not yet listed for Lanier in federal or local court.
He is awaiting a grand jury hearing in St. Clair County. If indicted, he will be represented by the St. Clair County Public Defender’s office.
Lanier’s first appearance in federal court is scheduled for May 22.
FBI affidavit details investigation’s findings
The federal case was initially sealed, but court documents are now publicly available, including an 11-page FBI affidavit that includes new details about the investigation.
The Marissa Police Department conducted a joint investigation with the FBI and Illinois Secretary of State Police Hazardous Device Unit.
When Marissa police arrested Lanier on May 1, he told investigators he built a bomb several months ago, Derek Parker, a special agent with the FBI, wrote in the affidavit.
“Lanier stated on the morning of April 29, 2023, he was walking in the ‘south end’ trailer court looking for his wife and her vehicle. Lanier stated if he located his wife’s vehicle, he was going to blow it up with the bomb,” the affidavit states. “Lanier stated several people with knives confronted him while he was walking so he lit the bomb and threw it at the people. Lanier said that he ran away after he saw that the bomb did not go off.”
The people who confronted Lanier did not previously know him, Marissa Police Chief Brian Sheridan said in an earlier interview. One of them told investigators they went outside when they saw him near one of their cars in a driveway, according to Parker’s affidavit.
Parker described the pipe bomb as being 2 feet long and 2 or 3 inches in diameter. It was made of cardboard and heavy duty white tape with red glitter glue on one end, he wrote.
Investigators found a similar device in a garage at one of Lanier’s family member’s homes where he stored things, according to the affidavit.
A man who said Lanier had lived with him for a few weeks told investigators he had a roll of heavy duty white siding tape in his garage and that red glitter glue from his wife’s craft room appeared to be missing, the affidavit states.
Lanier is being held in the St. Clair County Jail on a $90,000 bond.
This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
