Charges: Man accused of possessing explosive device left near Hastings primary school

A man has been charged after authorities found an explosive device near an elementary school in Hastings.

John Allan Lee, 57, was charged with possession of an explosive device.

According to a criminal complaint, Hastings police spoke with a woman who said she found a small “banger” with a fuse wrapped in a handkerchief on Feb. 10. The woman told police she took the item home and kept it in her garage after finding it near a telephone pole near an elementary school the previous day.

She said she initially thought it was trash, but when she realized it was explosives, she put it back. She later felt guilty about leaving it near the school, so she brought it home to ask her husband about it, and he told her to call the police.

Officers determined it was not a “banger” – it was shaped like a cylinder and wrapped in insulation or tape. According to court documents, there was an orange/yellowish material on the ends and a green fuse sticking out.

The FBI concluded it was an improvised explosive device (IED) and that it was functional. DNA found on the IED matched Lee's DNA, court documents say.

While he initially denied building bombs, explosives or fireworks, when confronted with the DNA evidence, Lee said they may have been in his possession and that he “probably owned them at some point.” However, he insisted he neither built them nor dropped them off at the school.

He also said that he walks down the street where the explosive device was found every day.