Webster Man Pleads Guilty to Building and Detonating Pipe Bombs in Weare (DOJ)

Webster Man Pleads Guilty to Building and Detonating Pipe Bombs in Weare

CONCORD - Dale G. Stewart, Jr., 57, of Webster, pleaded guilty today in federal court to three counts of possessing an unregistered firearm, specifically a destructive device, United States Erin Creegan announces.

According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, Stewart detonated two pipe bombs on Dustin Tavern Road and Sugar Hill Road in Weare, New Hampshire, on the evening of April 26 and on the morning of April 27, 2023. As part of the emergency response to these explosions, on the evening of April 27, 2023, law enforcement agents located and searched Stewart's vehicle on South Stark Highway in Weare, where they recovered an undetonated pipe bomb, constructed of white PVC pipe, with glued end caps, wrapped in black electrical tape, with a green hobby fuse protruding from one of the end caps. The undetonated pipe bomb contained more than 4 ounces of an explosive material, consistent with the manufacturing of the two pipe bombs that Stewart had detonated earlier. During police questioning, Stewart indicated he built these destructive devices at his home in Webster.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $10,000. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha D. Elliott scheduled sentencing for July 30, 2026.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Weare Police Department; and the Federal Protective Service led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New Hampshire State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cesar Vega and Anna Krasinski are prosecuting the case.