Feds: Teen Militia Leader in Nevada Planned 'Mass Killings'
Authorities in Nevada may have just aborted another mass shooting with the arrest of an 18-year-old, self-professed militia leader who authorities say planned to 鈥渃onduct mass killings鈥 and 鈥渂ragged about plans to shoot people on the Las Vegas strip.鈥
Steven Matthew Fernandes, who claimed to be a member of the Southern Nevada Militia, was arrested by FBI agents last month after three separate informants provided information about the teenager building and exploding bombs, amassing 鈥渁n arsenal of weapons鈥 and boasting of his killing prowess.
After a mass shooting spree at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater in July that left 12 people dead and 58 others injured, Fernandes boasted, 鈥淚鈥檒l beat that record,鈥欌 federal court documents say.
At the recommendation of federal prosecutors, he was ordered detained as a flight risk and danger to the community at a hearing Wednesday before a U.S. magistrate judge, the reported.
Fernandes is charged in a federal indictment with possessing and making unregistered firearms (bombs) and transporting explosive materials. Additional charges may be forthcoming, based on admissions the suspect made after he was arrested Sept. 13 outside a Radio Shack store in Las Vegas where he worked.
A loaded 10-round shotgun and additional ammunition were found in his car at the time of his arrest, according to a public court document filed by federal prosecutors and obtained by Hatewatch.
In the suspect鈥檚 bedroom in a Las Vegas home where he lived with his divorced mother and two younger sisters, agents recovered five rifles, four handguns and 鈥渢housands of rounds of ammunition,鈥 along with a dangerous array of bomb-building materials and instructions, the document says. His mother had installed a dead bolt on the room, the document says.
鈥淔ernandes manufactured, transported and exploded several bombs, and possessed material to make more,鈥 documenting at least one of those test explosions on his iPhone, which he turned over to FBI agents, the document says.
Based on information Fernandes provided, agents subsequently located a rural site in Arizona where the young bomb-builder detonated at least three improvised explosive devices on Sept. 11.
The suspect 鈥渉ad numerous firearms of different types and thousands of rounds of ammunition (and) bragged about plans to shoot people on the Las Vegas strip, shoot people at his school and shoot preschool children and infants,鈥 the document says.
Some of the teen鈥檚 familiarity with firearms, the court document says, came while he was a member of Boy Scout law enforcement 鈥淓xplorer Post.鈥 Fernandes, who claimed he had made at least 69 pipe bombs and discussed building poisonous gas chlorine bombs, used a 鈥渟pecial purchasing code鈥 from the high school he attended to buy restricted chemicals from suppliers, the document says.
Prosecutors further allege that Fernandes 鈥渕ade graphic and violent comments,鈥 some of which were recorded, 鈥渞egarding sexually assaulting women, killing babies, killing mass amount of Jewish people like Hitler and being voted the 鈥榤ost likely to show up to school and just start killing people.鈥欌
FBI agents learned about Fernandes鈥 activities last January, when an informant turned over an E-mail, the document says. In it, Fernandes 鈥渄escribed himself as the commanding officer (CO) of the 327th Nevada Militia, a.k.a. 327th Recon Unit, and referred to himself as First Sergeant Fernandes.鈥
Fernandes claimed he was a 鈥淪cout Sniper鈥 for the militia unit and that he trained for long- and close-range shooting.
In the E-mail, the document says, Fernandes said the 鈥327th Nevada Militia (327th) is currently comprised of six or seven members, with four or five of these members physically attending training.鈥 It doesn鈥檛 disclose if agents with the FBI鈥檚 Joint Terrorism Task Force have subsequently identified or interviewed any other those other purported members of the militia cell.
Fernandes said each member of the militia unit has individual assignments but are cross-trained as part of a group that 鈥渁spires to be an urban type city or populated area survivalist unit.鈥
Fernandes claimed that he and his fellow militia members 鈥渃onduct explosive disposal training in order to be 鈥榬eady to go to war鈥 with the government or 鈥榮ome invading a------ country鈥 which may use explosives, explaining this is 鈥榳hy we train to kill and destroy our enemies,鈥欌 the document says.
His militia unit of 鈥渒illers鈥 was preparing for a 鈥渢otal social collapse鈥 and planned to learn the underground tunnel system in Las Vegas, because 鈥渢he surface might not be safe.鈥
In February, the court document further discloses, a second informant provided the FBI additional information about Fernandes, who 鈥渃laims that he can walk into a restaurant filled with people and 鈥榢ill anybody without a round count.鈥欌
One of the FBI鈥檚 three informants in the case said Fernandes boasted that 鈥渉e could f--- up this town so badly鈥 with his militia unit because its members are well-trained and have 鈥渢ons of material,鈥 including satellite pictures. Fernandes said it was his goal to have 1,000 members in the Southern Nevada Militia before joining the U.S. Marine Corps this fall 鈥 something that didn鈥檛 happen.
At one point, the document says, Fernandes discussed a scenario 鈥渋f someone ever wanted to cause some damage in Las Vegas.鈥
鈥淗e explained that an individual could go to the Bellagio (hotel and casino) and rent a room. According to the defendant, the rooms in the Bellagio are sound proofed so one could sit in the rooms all day long and shoot people on the Strip without anyone knowing where the bullets were coming from.鈥