Ex-student from Rumson charged with having bomb materials ‘for large scale destruction’

A former Rumson Fair Haven graduate faces federal charges after authorities found bomb-making materials and an AR-15-style rifle inside his apartment in Ithaca, New York.

Maximilien R. Reynolds, 20, was charged in federal court Friday with possessing a destructive device and an unregistered silencer as well as making false statements in connection with the purchase of the semiautomatic rifle, according to federal court records.

Reynolds’ lawyer Raymond Schlather said in an email that his client was ill.

“All preliminary indications are that the materials and conduct at issue were defensive in nature, arising out of his medical condition, and that no one was under threat or in jeopardy,” he said.

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A Savage MSR-15 Patrol rifle, bomb-making materials and a homemade silencer were among scores of items seized from the apartment, federal records show. 

Authorities also found in Reynolds’ apartment consumer fireworks that had been modified to add shotgun pellets to its exterior, a gas mask, body, chemicals frequently used in homemade explosives, ball bearings that could be used as shrapnel in a bomb, pipes commonly used to assemble destructive devices, according to federal records.  Many of the 300 rounds of live ammunition discovered, police told the Sun, were in high-capacity magazine clips compatible with the rifle.

“Collectively all of these items certainly suggest a specific recipe for large-scale destruction,” Ithaca Police Chief Pete Tyler said in a statement. “I’m very proud of the team of investigators who worked diligently and methodically to prevent any potential tragedy from occurring.”

The investigation started March 7 after authorities received a tip from an employee at Walmart concerned about items Reynolds bought, including ammunition, hacksaw blades and knives.

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Reynolds told authorities he purchased the hacksaw and other tools to shorten the barrell of the semiautomatic weapons. He later consented to have authorities remove the weapons from his apartment and agreed to be taken to Cayuga Medical Center’s behavioral sciences unit in Ithaca, New York.

Reynolds was in that treatment facility when the FBI arrested him Thursday night, Schlather said.

“Friday afternoon, the Court quite correctly directed that his treatment continue — and that his mental health be evaluated — before any court proceedings go forward,” he said in the email. “Accordingly, no plea has been entered.”

Reynolds was a graduate of Rumson-Fair Haven High School and had at one time studied plant science at Cornell, according to his Facebook page. He graduated high school in 2015 and at his graduation, gave a speech about the importance of seeking help from others to accomplish goals, according to the Cornell Sun. 

Rumson-Fair Haven Superintendent Peter Righi declined to comment Sunday. 

Reynolds is the son of multi-millionaire Tim Reynolds of Rumson, who was a co-founder of Jane Street Capital, a Wall Street trading firm.

Tim Reynolds retired from Jane Street in 2012 and helped found the non-profit art education program Ani Art Academies.

Tim Reynolds also helped found The Tim Reynolds Family Spinal Cord Injury Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School after a car crash in 2000 left him paralyzed. 

When reached at his home Sunday, he declined to comment.

Neighbor Doug VanderHorn said he remembered Maximilien Reynolds as a “nice, respectful” child. 

“I’m just totally surprised,” he said. 

 

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