PITTSBURGH (AP) – The FBI and federal prosecutors were reviewing allegations against a college student from Russia who has been charged with possessing bomb-making and marijuana-growing materials, though police acknowledge the suspect told them he wasn’t planning on “blowing anything up.”
No federal charges had been filed against Vladislav Miftakhov by early Monday. The 18-year-old was arraigned Saturday on state court charges filed after Altoona police said they found bomb materials in his rented room near the Penn State-Altoona campus, about 85 miles east of Pittsburgh. On Monday, Miftakhov was in the Blair County Prison, unable to post $500,000 bond.
“Our office is reviewing the matter thoroughly and remains in close contact with federal, state and local investigators,” Pittsburgh-based U.S. Attorney David Hickton said Monday.
Pittsburgh FBI spokeswoman Kelly Kochamba said the agency was “actively working alongside the Pennsylvania State Police and Altoona police.”
Miftakhov doesn’t have an attorney. Hollidaysburg defense attorney Bob Donaldson told The Altoona Mirror, which first reported the charges, that he expects to be appointed to the case.
Donaldson’s secretary said he was traveling Monday, and he didn’t immediately return calls from The Associated Press. The lawyer told the newspaper that Miftakhov was “articulate, intelligent and focused on his education” when the two met for several hours at the jail on Sunday.
In an affidavit, Altoona police said they searched Miftakhov’s bedroom after speaking with his landlord about possible marijuana growing there. During the search, police found a suitcase holding two containers with exposed fuses and other explosives-related materials, as well as a smaller “completed device.”
