Houston man will stay behind bars after plotting to bomb building

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston man accused in what prosecutors called a failed bomb plot will stay behind bars until a federal grand jury decides whether or not to indict him.

Cary Lee Ogborn, 50, was in court Wednesday morning, wearing the requisite orange jumpsuit and cuffs on his hands and feet. He did not speak during the probable cause hearing, but a federal agent who testified revealed Ogborn's alleged motive.

That agent said Ogborn wanted to blow up the truck and house belonging to a man who he believed had stolen $6,000 worth of welding equipment.

Court documents reveal the boat repairman tried to procure bomb making materials online. Instead of speaking with a European merchant, he was exchanging messages with an undercover FBI agent.

Ogborn, prosecutors say, paid $600 using online currency called Bitcoin to buy a detonator, a transmitter, dynamite and a grenade. Agents shipped him inert explosives and arrested him when a tracking device indicated he'd opened the package.

Also revealed in court, prosecutors contend that Ogborn confessed to ordering the explosives during the car ride from the location of his arrest to the FBI's Houston office.

If convicted, Ogborn faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.