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Man charged after causing explosion in apartment complex in July

Posted at 6:25 PM, Jan 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-02 20:25:55-05

FARMINGTON, Utah — A man who injured himself in an explosion at an apartment complex in July has been charged with possession of an explosive device.

The State of Utah has charged Landon Hamilton Muir, 32, with possession or removal of an explosive device, a second-degree felony.

Muir was critically injured in an explosion at his place of residence on July 26, 2018. According to court documents, Farmington Police responded to the residence after reports of an explosion.

Court documents state that upon arrival, police observed severe damage to the walls of Muir’s garage. Muir himself had several small shrapnel wounds and two puncture wounds, as well as significant burns.

According to court documents, Muir told police he was “making an M-500” firework, and that the resulting explosion ignited his entire collection of incendiary components.

Court documents state that police executed a search warrant on Muir’s apartment and garage and recovered numerous items of evidence, including casings and caps for M-500 style firecrackers, a sample of an unknown powdery substance, large firecracker caps, a glue stick, and a large metal pipe that was threaded and capped on both ends in the manner of a pipe-bomb.

Police spoke with Muir’s parents, according to court documents, and Muir’s parents told police Muir said he had mixed two types of explosive powders in a large enough quantity to make 50 M-500 firecrackers. The explosion was caused by Muir “testing” a sample of the powder in his garage.

Court documents state the search warrant also allowed police to find evidence of searches Muir had made on electronic devices. Police found Muir had searched for information on building large fireworks, making flash powder, using black powder and what types of pipes to use to make M80 fireworks.

Muir is scheduled to appear in court on January 14.