Albuquerque Man Charged After FBI Finds Modified Hand Grenade in His Home (DOJ)

ALBUQUERQUE - An Albuquerque man has been federally charged with unlawfully possessing an improvised explosive device following the discovery of a modified hand grenade in his home.

According to court documents, on December 31, 2025, the Albuquerque Police Department responded to a residence in northwest Albuquerque after the resident, Jeff Bramlett, 46, requested medical assistance. While assisting at the residence, officers observed what appeared to be hand grenades and requested assistance from the FBI's Albuquerque Special Agent Bomb Technicians. Agents located two devices, one resembling a pineapple-shaped MK 2 fragmentation grenade and another similar to an M26 fragmentation grenade, in the living room. Both were fitted with functional military training fuzes.

On January 7, 2026, FBI and APD bomb technicians safely disassembled the devices and determined that one device was a functional grenade, containing granulated black powder that reacted positively to a flame test, confirming it was explosive material.

Bramlett is charged with possessing a firearm, namely a destructive device (grenade) that was not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. He will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, Bramlett faces up to 10 years in prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI's Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Seth Teleky is prosecuting the case.

An indictment or criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.