Sherburne County duo charged after police find homemade fireworks, IED

Two men are facing federal charges after a deputy came across them tossing homemade fireworks from a car last week in Big Lake Township.

Charging documents accuse Jantje Rorman, 50, and his nephew, Ethan Rorman, 24, of making fireworks and other improvised explosives using gunpowder and aluminum powder.

According to a criminal complaint, a Sherburne County sheriff’s deputy stopped Jantje Rorman and Ethan Rorman on Tuesday after witnessing explosions coming from near a white Dodge Challenger.

Jantje Rorman said they were “throwing fireworks” from the car. Both men had a metallic powder on their hands, which the deputy believed to be aluminum powder, often used in making explosives. Jantje Rorman admitted they had made the fireworks themselves. At Ethan Rorman’s feet were zipper bags of what appeared to be a mixture of gunpowder and aluminum powder, as well as a gas torch.

Deputies searched the Challenger and found eyedropper bottles with fuses and a pill bottle containing methamphetamine.

Ethan Rorman told deputies that he helped his uncle make the fireworks in his garage and that more explosive devices and materials would be found at their home.

A search of Jantje Rorman’s home in Big Lake turned up several bags of gunpowder, sulfur powder, and aluminum powder, as well as guns, gun components and “large quantities of ammunition.” Court records show Jantje Rorman is on probation for a gross misdemeanor weapons violation and is not supposed to possess any firearms.

Also inside the home were methamphetamine and psilocybin mushrooms, a sawed-off shotgun, and 3D-printed firearm suppressors.

A taped-up object with a fuse protruding from it was found inside a Toyota Corolla parked outside the home. The Minneapolis Bomb Squad identified it as an improvised explosive device, and an X-ray of the IED showed it to be filled with BBs and nails.

Ethan Rorman told investigators he had placed the IED in the Toyota, which was his vehicle. According to the complaint, he explained that he and Jantje Rorman had made “several” of the devices and described the process of putting them together.

Police also spoke with Jantje Rorman, who said he started making fireworks and other explosives earlier this year by following instructional YouTube videos. He believed Ethan Rorman had taken some of the materials to make devices of his own, the complaint states.

Charging documents allege that a week prior to his arrest, Ethan Rorman had threatened his employer, a coffee shop in Anoka, with a bomb. The Minneapolis Bomb Squad swept the coffee shop for explosives but found none.

Both defendants are charged with possessing an unregistered destructive device, and Jantje Rorman is additionally charged with possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun. They remain in custody at the Sherburne County Jail.
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