Simsbury Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing and Using Explosives

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAVID BOURNE, 38, of Simsbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 37 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing and using explosives.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 6, 2018, Connecticut State Police responded to Rory Mocarsky’s residence in Hartland after reports of gunfire and explosions at the property, and after viewing a YouTube video showing Mocarsky and Bourne engaged in activities involving firearms and explosives.  A search of the property revealed an 8mm rifle, three .22 caliber rifles, a suspected homemade silencer, ammunition, a suspected improvised explosive device (“IED”), suspected post-blast IED devices and fragments, suspected explosive materials, and other electronic devices.  A related search of a location in the Tunxis State Forest in East Hartland, where Mocarsky and Bourne had recorded explosions, revealed metal fragments, a section of PVC pipe, and PVC pipe fragments from a suspected IED.

On January 2, 2019, Bourne threw a pipe bomb, which he constructed, into the back of a victim’s truck, where it exploded.

Bourne was arrested on May 9, 2019.  On September 24, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device.

Bourne, who is released on a $50,000 bond, is required to report to prison in 60 days.

On July 2, 2019, Mocarsky pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon.  He awaits sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and Connecticut State Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.