Burleson bomb maker pleads guilty to firearm, child porn charges
BURLESON, Texas - A Burleson man who blew up homemade bombs and idealized mass shooters pleaded guilty to weapon and child pornography charges Thursday.
22-year-old Noah Robert Calderon pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of receipt of child pornography.
Noah Calderon
He was charged this April after a raid on his home.
In October 2022, the FBI received a tip about Calderon's social media posts. In the posts he said he was fascinated by mass shootings, and especially focused on the 1999 Columbine High School shooting.
He also posted several photos of himself in tactical-style vests with AR-15 rifles and homemade explosives.
A look into Calderon's Google searches found several searches for the Columbine killers, Dylann Roof, the Charleston church shooter, and instructions on how to make various bombs. He also looked up the names of several local schools, according to investigators.
In March 2023, the FBI received a tip that Calderon had detonated a homemade bomb in his neighborhood.
Federal agents raided Calderon's home on April 17 and found items that could be used to detonate a bomb, metal BBs and lead and more than 600 grams of explosive powder.
According to plea papers, Calderon specifically admitted to searching for bomb-making information.
Burleson man with Columbine shooting 'fascination' charged with making bomb, documents say
Federal prosecutors say they may have stopped a mass tragedy by arresting a North Texas man last month.
A search of the 22-year-old's phone also revealed explicit sexual videos of a video chat between Calderon and a 13-year-old girl.
He admitted to knowing the girl's age, according to the plea papers.
"The collaborative work by the FBI and our law enforcement partners led to today’s outcome which holds Mr. Calderon accountable for creating and possessing a homemade bomb and for possessing explicit videos of a child," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough in a statement.
Calderon faces up to 30 years in federal prison. He could be sentenced to 10 years for the firearm charge and between five and 20 years for the child pornography charge.
His sentencing is scheduled to be held on Friday, November 3.