The Webster man accused of trying to set off a homemade incendiary device in a Ridgeway Avenue apartment building pleaded not guilty this morning to charges of felony arson, and felony criminal possession of a weapon.
He’s due back in court for a hearing on May 22nd.
The second charge was for an explosive device found Monday night inside 401 Ridgeway Avenue, near the corner of Ridgeway and Dewey. That trigger device exploded, but failed to set fire to numerous containers of gasoline. A passerby smelled gasoline coming from the vacant building and alerted the fire department. They alerted the bomb squad after finding the improvised incendiary device. Rochester Fire Chief James Hartman says several people could have been killed had the device worked as intended.
Eric Reynolds was arrested Tuesday when police served a search warrant at his home in the Village of Webster. They seized a cache of evidence related to Monday night’s discovery. The 52-year-old Reynolds owns that building, which is under foreclosure and was ordered by city inspectors to be vacated in March for uncorrected code violations.
Reynolds has been known as a gadfly and opponent of the Webster Village administration. The village mayor says he was charged after allegedly assaulting another person during a board meeting, leading them to bar him from the village hall.