TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - A Federal Grand Jury indicted a man Wednesday in the May bomb scare at a propane company that shut down US Highway 62 in Tahlequah.
Bryan Berres was arrested for possession of destructive devices and an unregistered firearm.
According to court documents, Berres walked up to Amerigas Propane Company in Tahlequah May 9, removed a backpack and asked for an ambulance.  When paramedics arrived, Berres surrendered a knife and said he had a registered .38 in the bag, which investigators later said was false.
Paramedics believed Berres was delusional at the time, according to the affidavit, and an employee at the propane company described him as catatonic.
Police were called and when officers arrived they asked Berres about the bag's other contents, which he said included a "flash bang," leads, squibs and electric matches.
Before he was transported to a hospital, Berres told police federal agents had been to his home and questioned him about the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn.
According to the affidavit of ATF Special Agent Ashley Stephens, Berres has been involved in the legal manufacturing of exploding targets, known as Tannerite, and has previously been in contact with various law enforcement agencies.  Each time he was found in compliance.
Tahlequah police called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Bomb Squad, who were able to safely open the bag and seize its contents.  Inside they found a flash bang, black powder, a cannon fuse, wires, a .38 semi-automatic pistol and various ammunition.
Later while Berres was hospitalized, investigators asked him what he planned doing with the bag, and Berres said, "I'm going into the woods on 82 to get the government out of my body," according to Stephens' affidavit.
Berres was released from jail June 6 if he would seek medical or psychiatric treatment and participate in home detention.

— A Fort Gibson man was indicted in federal court Wednesday on separate, unrelated charges, according to a media release.


Bryan Berres, 32, of Fort Gibson was indicted on a complaint of possession of an unregistered firearm.

Berres was detained May 9 after he allegedly left a duffel bag containing firearms, ammunition and an explosive device at AmeriGas, a propane company in Tahlequah.

Berres was then hospitalized, and federal authorities took over the investigation.

A media release describes the explosive device as a “CTS Model 7290 1.5-second delay Flash-Bang,” which had not been registered to Berres in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer record. The release says he also possessed “a metal GOEX black powder container, canon fuse and electric matches, which any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into a destructive device,” which was not registered.

Tahlequah Police Chief Nate King said the backpack had been left within 10 feet of a propane tank.

If found guilty, Berres could spend up to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and/or a $250,000 fine.

Cathy Spaulding