ISLE OF WIGHT, Va. — An Isle of Wight man was found with possibly the largest supply of "finished explosive devices" ever seized in the history of the FBI, officials said.
Brad Spafford, 36, was arrested on December 17 and is charged with unlawful possession of an unregistered short-barrel rifle. However, prosecutors say he could face additional charges for unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices.
The FBI had been investigating Spafford since 2023 after a source reported that Spafford had lost some of his fingers in 2021 while working on explosive devices. The source also claimed he was stockpiling weapons and homemade ammunition.
The source further shared that Spafford and his friends were allegedly preparing for something Spafford "would not be able to do alone."
Through the investigation, the FBI learned Spafford allegedly had an unregistered short-barrel rifle and possibly had a highly explosive substance in his freezer.
The FBI then executed the search warrant on December 17. According to federal court documents, investigators found "a stockpile of more than 150 homemade improvised explosive devices" at Spafford's farm in Isle of Wight County—including a jar of "extraordinarily dangerous explosive material" next to food in the freezer.
Prosecutors say the explosives included pipe bombs, and some devices were marked "lethal."
"That's a little scary, very scary, I mean you just never know who your neighbors are right," Renee' Wright with Southern Charm Estate Sales, said.
Wright was working on an upcoming estate sale just down the road from where the FBI allegedly found the explosives at Spafford's home.
She said she can remember leaving the night of December 17 and seeing law enforcement vehicles flooding the road.
"It was really foggy that night and when I got down and around the curve, there were still lights but a whole lot more when I got up there, the first house was probably 7 to 8 cars," Wright said.
According to court documents, a number of the pipe bombs had to be detonated on-site because of how unstable they were.
Wright said her team could hear the explosives going off all day.
"Yeah and it was all day long, all day long," Wright said.
Spafford did receive a bond and is staying with a family member.
Part of his bond requires him to wear an electronic monitoring system.
