NORTHAMPTON — The Easthampton man accused of placing explosive devices in the city’s mill district last winter pleaded guilty to 57 charges Friday, but his lawyer said he was simply a “tinkerer” who went too far in celebrating the 2017 Patriots Super Bowl win.
Bryan Desmarais, 43, of 36 Ridgewood Terrace, pleaded guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to 10 counts of unlawful placing or secreting of an incendiary device, nine counts of unlawful exploding of an incendiary device, single counts of attempting to unlawfully explode an incendiary device and possession of an incendiary device or material, and 37 counts of possession of a large capacity feeding device.
Defense attorney Alan Rubin said that Desmarais had become interested in the chemistry and creativity of pyrotechnics and got “carried away.” Rubin said Desmarais detonated several single explosions on the evening of Feb. 5, 2017, to celebrate touchdowns made by the Patriots and detonated a string of explosions around 9:30 p.m. to celebrate the Patriots’ win.
“What he did was blow some holes in a pond,” Rubin said. “We have here a man who is in some ways just a boy playing with fireworks.”
However, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Matthew Thomas said the commonwealth is requesting stronger sentencing for Desmarais because he had shown indifference to the people of Easthampton and appeared to show what he described as “escalating behavior,” as evidenced by videos found on his computer of prior explosions.
Thomas showed visual evidence in a statement of facts about the case before arguing for the judge to consider a longer probation and stricter sentencing, though sentencing details will be decided at a hearing later in April.
Among the evidence shown was a clip of a video taken from Desmarais’ computer that showed how to make ETN, an explosive compound sensitive to friction that Thomas said has 20 percent more explosive power than dynamite, and a video taken from the computer that showed what appeared to be the February explosions: a series of lights and crack of sound in the darkness beyond a snow-filled parking lot.
Thomas showed a map that he said was a forensic rendering by Easthampton police of the approximate locations where the incendiary devices — both the nine that exploded and one unexploded — were located.
Thomas showed photographs of Desmarais’ place of business on Pleasant Street, Bustin’ Bass Baits, after police obtained search warrants for both his residence and business office. In the photographs, Thomas pointed out what he said was nearly three pounds of ETN in a container mixed in with containers of sugar and petroleum jelly in a cabinet.
Thomas also showed photographs of the 37 large capacity feeding devices found in the business office, four of which were found in the cabinet with the ETN, while the rest were hot glued to the underside of a workbench, Thomas said. Large capacity feeding devices are detachable magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Other photographs showed by Thomas were of the sites of the explosions, showing blackened snow and ice around holes on the surface of Lower Mill Pond, and of the single un-detonated device, which he said showed how the devices were made.
He showed a photograph of the detonator found in the rafters of the basement of Desmarais’ residence, part of a kit of 12 radio receivers Desmarais had ordered from a manufacturer in China that he used to make the devices, and which later helped lead police to Desmarais.
Thomas also showed photographs of other items found at the warehouse that were relevant but that led to no charges. Some of the items included ceramic military-grade body armor, a ballistic helmet, or a piece of metal and a milling machine that Thomas said could be used to make a firearm.
“It’s easy to imagine someone walking their dog at 9:30 p.m. … being hurt grievously, if not killed,” Thomas said of the February explosions, emphasizing that the devices were placed in a mixed-use, high-traffic area of Easthampton. “These don’t seem to be the actions of a hobbyist, because of the scope and because of all the things found in his business.”
Rubin said that Desmarais said he had taken safety precautions, such as wearing a night-vision scope to make sure no people were near the devices on the night of the February explosions. He also said the videos taken from Desmarais’ computer of prior explosions were just fireworks.
Desmarais was quiet during the proceedings, answering the judge’s questions in soft tones. When asked why he chose to plead guilty, he said “because I’m guilty.” The only objection he gave was to state that the ice had only been about 2½ inches thick, contradicting Thomas’ characterization of the thick ice, which Thomas had said showed the strength of the explosions.
Judge Mary-Lou Rup said she would not pursue sentencing greater than the commonwealth’s suggestion, but would need to think about the differing sentence recommendations from the prosecution and defense.
Sentencing is scheduled to take place on April 17.
Thomas said he was concerned that Desmarais would not be fully rehabilitated in prison, and asked the judge to consider ways of keeping tabs on Desmarais after serving his sentence to ensure he doesn’t continue dangerous behavior in the future. Rubin, however, said Desmarais has been scared and there won’t be any problems in the future.