Spokane man charged with illegally storing explosives, weapons in Bellevue

SPOKANE — A Spokane man has been arrested after federal agents were alerted to a huge cache of explosives and other weapons the man had allegedly illegally stored in a Bellevue storage unit.

Ronald L. Struve made a brief appearance in U.S. District Court in Spokane today and was ordered sent to the federal court in Seattle, where the case will be prosecuted. Struve said little in court and will remain in custody until his next court appearance.

He is being held on one count of storing high explosives in an illegal manner, and one count of possessing firearms not registered to him. The weapons came to light because Struve had fallen behind on his storage fees.

Federal officials were tight-lipped about a possible motivation for having the weapons.

Struve told an agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he did not plan to sell them, but rather that he "planned to use the items at some uncertain date in the future," the criminal complaint states.

Among the items ATF agents found were about 40 machine guns, along with grenades, silencers and other items. None of the weapons were registered to him, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Authorities served additional search warrants, according to Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the investigation is continuing.

Seattle Times staff reporter Maureen O'Hagan contributed to this report.