Cobb County Man Who Sold Bomb To An Undercover Officer Sentenced

Defendant Manufactured an Improvised Explosive Device

ATLANTA - Mark Young was sentenced today to serve over five years in federal prison on charges of possessing a destructive device by United States District Judge Steven C. Jones.

"The recent tragedy in Boston underscores the havoc a homemade bomb can wreak,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.  “We are committed to aggressively prosecuting those who put the safety and security of our citizens at risk by constructing explosives devices.”

“ATF agents, working closely with our local law enforcement partners, arrested a violent individual who posed a significant danger to our community,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Shaefer.  “Through this cooperative effort, we were able to stop any potential harm to the citizens of Atlanta, Georgia.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court:  On or about January 13, 2012, an undercover officer (UC) met with Young and received a sample of what Young referred to as homemade explosives. In the days leading up to this, the UC had received information that Young had manufactured his own “C-4,” which is a type of plastic explosive  The UC called Young, who spoke in “code” over the phone and said he had made something he was willing to give the UC a free sample of. Young then met the UC in a mall parking lot and provided the UC with an unknown substance on a paper plate. Young described the substance as being capable of making an explosion that would be similar to a few “M-80’s going off.”  Young added that the amount he gave to the UC could blow up a car if the UC used it as a “shape charge on the gas tank.”

In February 2012, Young told the UC that he had made a new batch of C4. Young sold the UC the new material through a middleman, and ATF chemists determined that it was an explosive.  Next, on April 2, 2012, Young told the UC that he had made a new bomb.  Young met the UC wearing a ballistic vest and had a .44 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver sitting on his lap. Young sold the UC the bomb for $750. He was then arrested, and the bomb was rendered safe.  ATF determined that the bomb was in fact an IED (Improvised Explosive Device).    

Young, 46, of Cobb County, Ga., was sentenced to five years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Young was convicted of these charges on February 27, 2013, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosives and members of the Atlanta Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Gabay-Smith prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.