Man waives hearing on charges of weapons of mass destruction

A Munson man facing charges for having a pipe bomb and synthetic marijuana waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court in Clearfield County.

Jake Frederic Schneider, 22, was charged with felony counts of weapons of mass destruction, criminal conspiracy and manufacture/delivery/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, as well as misdemeanor counts of intentional possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and hindering apprehension. His bail is set at $25,000 unsecured.

The charges stem from an incident on March 1 in Lawrence Township, during which police located a fugitive, Jonathan Michael Harvey, 23, of Morrisdale, at Schneider’s residence.

Officers on the scene reported finding an open bag allegedly containing gun powder, wire, caps and with the end of a pipe sticking out of it. All of which are materials used to create homemade pipe bombs, according to the affidavit of probable cause. The bag was taken to the police station, where an assembled pipe bomb was allegedly found at the bottom.

The bomb was disarmed, packaged as evidence and sent to the crime lab. Lab results confirmed it contained explosive powder, according to the report.

Police said they also found eight to 10 silver pouches of suspected synthetic marijuana. They took into custody a cellphone and a Kindle Fire.

An examination of the phone uncovered texts that seemed to indicate drug sales. Schneider’s search history from Google included how to illegally obtain a firearm, gunpowder, how to make methamphetamine, strangulation, choking and how to knock out someone, police said.

Harvey is charged with a felony count of weapons of mass destruction-unlawful possession or manufacture and a misdemeanor count of make repairs/sell/offensive weapon. His bail is $50,000.

Schneider also waived his right to a hearing in a second case on charges of intentional possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to that affidavit, on June 16 a wildlife conservation officer found Schneider sleeping in a car near the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in Cooper Township. After this officer reportedly saw a knife, packages of drugs and drug paraphernalia in plain view, he called for another officer to assist him. In total, they found 40 grams of synthetic marijuana in the vehicle.

Schneider’s bail in that case is also $25,000, unsecured.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Man waives hearing on charges of weapons of mass destruction."