Federal Charge Against Teenager Who Tried To Buy Grenade From The Dark Web

A Kansas teenager was charged by federal prosecutors for attempted purchase of a grenade from the dark web.

On April 19, federal prosecutors charged the 18-year-old Carlos Francisco Martin from Coffeyville with receiving an explosive meant to destroy property. According to police information, the suspect used bitcoins to purchase the grenade.

Steven Gradert, from defense, said that his client is just “kind of a dumb 18-year-old kid” who wanted to blow up a truck as revenge since someone had damaged his mom’s car. The defense attorney added that his client plans to plead guilty to the charges against him. According to Gradert, the purchase initially drew the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s terrorism task force. The lawyer stated that the “method of the purchase” was the main reason why the case attracted the FBI’s attention.

Additional information on the case, including the date of the transaction, or how law enforcement authorities arrested the suspect, were not disclosed by the authorities.

On November 19, 2016, Robert Fraser, an 18-year-old teenager, was found dead in his bedroom at his father’s home in St Francis Close, Deal, the United Kingdom. A toxicology report showed that the teenager died from taking a fatal dose of the synthetic drug fentanyl. Law enforcement authorities started investigating the case of the seller, however, they ended the investigation on March 23 ahead of an inquest on May 12 due to the lack of evidence. Additionally, police told Robert’s family that their specialists were not able to access the HTC phone of their son, so they weren’t able to retrieve any information from the device.

According to one of the friends of the 18-year-old, who was with him, the white powder had been double wrapped in an airtight bag, and then in a sealable bag. The friend said that the dealer did not tell Robert or the others what the actual substance was, but he compared it to MDMA, a drug they had taken before. The three friends tried the drug, but two of them became ill. One of them said that they thought Robert would get rid of the substance. However, the 18-year-old did not do that. When his father found him, Robert was lying unconscious on the floor by prepared lines of the white powder. In a statement, law enforcement authorities said they had conducted thorough inquiries, and compiled a report for the coroner.

“Police officers will pursue all reasonable lines of inquiry to gain evidence. This includes mobile phone data where there are legal grounds to do so. However, in some circumstances, officers are unable to gain access to all or some of the data,” the police said about the current case. Law enforcement authorities also added that they believe that the dealer who sold the dangerous synthetic substance to the 18-year-old possible ordered the drug from the darknet.