WOODMERE, N.Y., March 8 (UPI) -- A Long Island man was being held without bail after police said they found marijuana plants, handguns, rifles, pipe bombs and grenades at his parents' home.
Marc Ringel, 53, was arraigned Thursday on charges of reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal use of a firearm, WCBS-TV, New York, reported. Ringel, unemployed and divorced, had been living at his parents' house in Woodmere, N.Y., while they were in Florida. He pleaded not guilty.
Nassau Police Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lack said Ringel was arrested after police responded to a burglar alarm about 2 p.m. Tuesday and he invited officers into the house, the New York Post reported.
Officers saw a pistol and a hand grenade, then discovered marijuana plants and more than 100 handguns, 25 rifles, 15 pipe bombs and at least and 15 grenades, Lack said.
Lack said police also found ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, used to make powerful bombs.
"There was enough explosive material there to level that house and possibly the entire block," Nassau County Police Chief Steven Skrynecki said Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, police evacuated a 500-foot radius around the home while federal authorities confiscated marijuana plants, weapons and explosives.
A shallow pit was discovered in the backyard, and Skrynecki said it might have been used for testing explosives.
Ringel's defense attorney, Saul Bienenfeld, said the search was improper and that he plans to file a motion to exclude the evidence.
He said Ringel was going through a "terrible divorce" and having "child-custody issues" and he is "dealing with this by trying to get into the antique auction gun business."
Bienenfeld said Ringel was not a threat to public safety.
