Cedar Rapids man charged with having ‘improvised’ bomb

CEDAR RAPIDS - A Cedar Rapids man was charged today in federal court with having an 'improvised” bomb authorities say exploded last May in his northeast Cedar Rapids apartment.  

Gerald R. Legrand, 46, was charged in U.S. District Court with one count of possession of a National Firearms Act device not registered to him. Legrand is accused of possessing an 'improvised explosive bomb” not registered to him. Cedar Rapids police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, on May 20, started an investigation of the explosion in his apartment at 2107 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE.

The charging document has little detail of the incident but, according to police, components of suspected devices were found in the apartment in May. There is no information on the intended purpose of the bomb.  

Police said Legrand was treated at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for serious injuries after the explosion. No further information about his condition is available at this time.

An initial appearance date hasn't been set.  

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