Fifty-year-old Cary Lee Ogborn, a resident of Houston and a boat repairman by profession, has been arrested and charged by federal authorities for attempting to buy dynamite, grenades, and wireless transmitters with the intent to burn someone’s apartment and vehicle to the ground.
According to Kenneth Magidson, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, and Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI, Ogborn was charged with the intent to “transport explosives with the intent that those explosives be used to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual or to damage or destroy a vehicle or building.” Ogborn was arrested last Friday after he retrieved a package he believed contained the explosives.
The criminal complaint, which was filed upon Ogborn’s arrest, alleges that he initiated an anonymous online order of explosive materials at an underground marketplace called AlphaBay. This underground marketplace uses onion routing to conceal users’ IP addresses.
Beginning on or around August 20, Ogborn allegedly sent a private message through the network seeking to buy items he intended to use to cause the explosion of a building. Ogborn started communicating with someone he thought was a vendor, but was actually an undercover FBI agent.
Earlier this month, the undercover FBI agent sent Ogborn a message, telling him that the goods would be concealed inside a toy. Ogborn allegedly agreed to pay $600 for the goods.
Ogborn appeared last Monday in a federal court. He is due back on Wednesday for his probable cause and detention hearing.
According to a report that appeared in the Houston Chronicle, Ogborn has racked up numerous previous offenses, including driving with a suspended license, committing insurance fraud, and possessing illegal metal knuckles.
If convicted of his most recent crime, Ogborn faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
