United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James C. Barnacle, Jr., announced federal criminal charges against RAYMOND ELDERS for manufacturing and possessing suspected improvised explosive devices in his apartment in White Plains and detonating them on a residential street. ELDERS was arrested by the FBI and presented yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court and detained.
“By allegedly manufacturing dozens of suspected explosive devices and storing them in his apartment, Raymond Elders put everyone in his community at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “But he didn’t stop there. As alleged in the complaint, and over a period of months, he lit these devices and detonated them in his neighborhood in White Plains, causing unexplained explosions that his neighbors repeatedly reported to the police. It should go without saying that anyone who tosses illegal explosives onto New York residential streets should expect to face serious consequences, including federal criminal charges brought by our Office.”
“Raymond Elders allegedly constructed dozens of IEDs and detonated at least two in his neighborhood,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. “Elders’s alleged actions repeatedly disregarded the public’s safety by subjecting innocent bystanders to potentially devastating harm. We thank the White Plains Police Department and the Westchester County Bomb Squad for their prompt response and for protecting the residents of Westchester County. The FBI continues to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities from violence.”
As alleged in the Complaint:[1]
ELDERS, a convicted felon, was captured on surveillance video on at least two occasions in March 2026 igniting suspected improvised explosive devices and tossing them onto Odell Avenue in White Plains. Below are excerpts from surveillance footage obtained from residential premises on Odell Avenue during the afternoon of March 18, 2026:
In response to multiple 911 calls on March 30, White Plains Police Officers responding to the scene found an apparent pipe bomb on the steps of ELDERS’s apartment building. A warrant-authorized search of ELDERS’s apartment returned at least approximately 25 suspected explosive devices, in addition to materials and supplies ELDERS allegedly used to assemble explosive devices. Law enforcement evacuated all residents of the apartment building while FBI explosives specialists secured the scene. Law enforcement’s analysis of the suspected improvised explosive devices remains ongoing.
An associate of ELDERS informed law enforcement that he has seen ELDERS assemble the suspected explosive devices while sitting on the living room couch in his apartment, which is on the first floor of a multi-family residence.
ELDERS, 65, is charged with one count of use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of possession of destructive devices after a felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; as well as one count of receipt and possession of explosives after a felony conviction, one count of unlawful possession of destructive devices, and one count of unlawful manufacture of destructive devices, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI New York Office Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and Joint Terrorism Task Force, the White Plains Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samantha Briggs and John Sarlitto are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
