Appeals court tosses evidence for Kansas vet with incendiary bombs

CREATED Feb. 6, 2013

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal appeals court has tossed out evidence against a 66-year-old Kansas military veteran convicted of possessing incendiary bombs in preparation for the end of the world.

Alfred Dutton, an Army and Marine veteran from Eureka, is serving a 21-month sentence. He pleaded guilty earlier to unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices.

Dutton had sought to suppress evidence taken in 2011 from a storage unit where authorities found five jars of homemade napalm with fuses attached.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed a lower court's denial of the motion and returned the case for more proceedings. The appeals court said authorities lacked reason to suspect criminal activity at the storage unit.

His attorney said Dutton will withdraw his guilty plea. Prosecutors are reviewing Wednesday's ruling.