Veteran Receives 5 Years In Prison For Planting Bomb At Hospital

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A 61-year-old Army veteran from St. Petersburg is headed to federal prison for five years after admitting to building a bomb and placing it outside the Veterans Affairs hospital in Bay Pines.

Mark Edward Allen was arrested June 1 after St. Petersburg police say he built an improvised explosive device in his home and then planted it on a gate that controls access to the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System, 10000 Bay Pines Blvd.

The Tampa police bomb squad said the device contained a 9-volt battery, electrical wires, an improvised initiator, explosive powder and a clothespin switch. Surveillance video from the hospital and a nearby Wawa convenience store showed Allen — with a distinctive long, gray beard and wearing a U.S. Army baseball cap — placing the bomb on the gate at 4:59 a.m. May 29, authorities said.

After disabling the device, the bomb squad disassembled it at another location and confirmed the powder was "energetic and consistent with pyrotechnic type powders" used to cause an explosion.

See related story: Army Veteran Accused Of Placing Bomb Outside Veterans Hospital

Two days later, Allen's wife called the St. Petersburg Police Department to report that her husband had made a bomb at their apartment at 637 88th Ave. N, authorities said. She told police she put the device in the trunk of her car while Allen was sleeping and drove to a friend's house because she was afraid, authorities said.

The Tampa police bomb squad X-rayed the device taken by Allen's wife and noted its similarities to the device found at Bay Pines. They said they concluded that the devices were likely made by the same person.

During a search of Allen's apartment, the FBI discovered seven other completed and partially completed IEDs, all capable of causing fatal injuries, authorities said.

Allen's wife also confirmed that her husband was the man seen in the surveillance video.

She told investigators her husband is an Army veteran who went to Bay Pines for treatment for various medical conditions and had an appointment there the previous week.

Allen was arrested June 1 and pleaded guilty Sept. 23.

Last week, U.S. District Judge William Jung sentenced Allen to five years in federal prison for attempting to destroy U.S. government property with an improvised explosive device.

“The FBI routinely asks the public that if they see something to say something. This investigation proves to us the message is being heard loud and clear," said Michael F. McPherson, special agent in charge of the FBI Tampa Division. "We are grateful for the individual who came forward with the information leading us to Mr. Allen. Their action helped save lives.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the Tampa Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police, the Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector General, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the St. Petersburg Police Department.