Man Who Used Pipe Bomb on Police Car in Thurmont Expected To Plead Guilty

Plea hearing set for police car bombing suspect

BALTIMORE (AP) – A Maryland man accused of pipe-bombing an unoccupied police car is expected to plead guilty to federal charges.

Kyle Mueller was to appear at a hearing Monday in Baltimore after attorneys indicated in February that they were working on a plea agreement.

Mueller was indicted last year on charges including malicious use of explosive materials and using a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence.

Were he to be tried and convicted, Mueller would have faced a mandatory 35 years in prison. The federal indictment was issued just days before a state prosecutor said Mueller could not be held criminally responsible on state charges following a mental health evaluation.

Mueller was arrested after an August 2016 explosion that damaged a police vehicle parked outside a Thurmont officer’s home.