Photo: U.S. Department of Justice
A Western Washington man is facing prison time after authorities found his homemade explosives and firearms in his underground bunker.
James Wesley Brown, 42, was sentenced to 42 months in prison on Friday, November 2, in U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez believes Bowden's drug addiction likely contributed to his illicit activities.
Brown was arrested in November 2021 after he threatened a man with a gun during a fight at his home on Burn Road. Snohomish County sheriff's deputies executed a search warrant at his property and found what they described as a “laboratory with various chemicals and equipment consistent with the manufacturing of homemade explosives” in the garage.
When cops cleared the space of explosives, they discovered a detachable panel on the garage floor. That led them to an underground bunker full of weapons, ammo, grenades, silencers, armor, and other supplies, according to the DOJ. Two of the firearms were modified to fire full automatic machine guns, they added.
Before this shocking discovery, Bowden was prohibited from owning any guns since he was found guilty of two felonies in 1998. The 42-year-old entered a guilty plea to possession of a handgun, machine gun, and destructive device charges in May.