Bucks County man charged with detonating bomb at N.J. home of former work supervisor
Michael Patrick Takacs, Jr., of Warminster, is accused of planting and detonating a bomb that blew up a silver Ford Explorer in the driveway of the victim in Delran on July 26.
A 43-year-old Bucks County man was charged with planting a bomb that exploded and destroyed an SUV in New Jersey owned by a former work supervisor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey said Thursday.
Michael Patrick Takacs, Jr., of Warminster, is accused of planting and detonating a bomb that blew up a silver Ford Explorer in the driveway of the victim in Delran, Burlington County, on July 26.
Takacs made an initial appearance on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Skahill in federal court in Camden. Skahil ordered that Takacs be held pending further court proceedings.
Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said in a statement: “Disgruntled individuals who seek retaliation in such dangerous ways — ways that could have seriously injured not only the victim, but others in the community, cannot be tolerated."
Assistant Federal Public Defender Thomas Young, who is representing, Takacs, could not be reached for comment.
Shortly after 2:40 a.m. July 26, the bomb detonated in the vicinity of the Ford Explorer, the criminal complaint said. No injuries were reported, but the explosion created a debris field 100 feet in diameter, with nails and bolts lodged in the SUV and in nearby homes.
About two minutes before the explosion, surveillance video was recorded showing a dark-colored SUV, later identified as a Jeep Renegade, parked across the street from the victim’s home, the complaint said. A person got out carrying a black object, approached the driver’s side of the victim’s Ford Explorer, returned to the Jeep Renegade empty-handed and drove away.
Video shows the Jeep Renegade pass in front of the targeted person’s home at high speed, followed immediately by a large explosion, the complaint said. Investigators believe the driver of the Jeep Renegade remotely detonated the device.
Takacs was terminated from his job in May, and the SUV owner was one of his supervisors, the complaint said.
Investigators allegedly found the same type of Jeep Renegade parked near Takacs home in Warminster.
Just weeks before the explosion, Takacs purchased from a website detonators consistent with the detonator found at the scene of the explosion, the complaint said.
Takacs allegedly took a screenshot in early June of an online map showing the SUV owner’s residence, and he allegedly had a conversation with someone about buying a license plate flipper, which would conceal a license plate at the push of a button.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy said in a statement: “We worked around the clock and developed evidence in just days to allege Takacs built the bomb and took very specific steps to avoid detection. Our most important mission in these types of investigations is to protect the public from injury or death by preventing additional attacks. ”
Roddy added: “The people of New Jersey do not always get to see the swift and incredible work done by the FBI and our law enforcement partners, but this case illustrates what we do and the way we do it is vital to the communities we serve.”