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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC Alumnus Admits Responsibility for Pipe Bomb

Christopher Scott McMillan, 37, of 603 Fairfield Road in Durham pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to one count of attempting to damage a building by either fire or explosive. The charges were related to an incident involving a device that exploded at the Sprint regional office in Franklin County on Aug. 28.

McMillan, a 1986 UNC graduate, was injured slightly in the explosion.

As part of the plea agreement McMillan signed, he claimed responsibility for the device found on Cameron Avenue on Aug. 27. Court records obtained by The Daily Tar Heel in late August described the Cameron Avenue device as "essentially identical" to the bomb that exploded at the Sprint building.

The device at UNC, described by University Police Chief Derek Poarch as a 5-inch piece of pipe capped at both ends, was detonated by State Bureau of Investigations officials. The incident caused no injuries, but Cameron Avenue was shut down for almost four hours.

Jim Mercer, resident agent in charge of the Raleigh office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said McMillan took responsibility for the device as part of his plea agreement.

"Part of his plea was the recital of facts of what happened at UNC," Mercer said. "He essentially pled guilty, but there will be no specific additional charges."

Mercer said the plea agreement would be used to help the judge in McMillan's case determine an appropriate sentence. "In that plea, he acknowledged responsibility for the UNC bombing," Mercer said. "At the time of sentencing, he will be sentenced based on that behavior."

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler said McMillan faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison.

Bowler said part of the plea agreement McMillan signed also binds him to extensive interviews with law enforcement officers and a psychological analysis.

Bowler said no sentencing date has been set yet but that it will probably be in 60 to 90 days.

He said the investigation is limited to McMillan, who officials believe acted alone. "We don't have any information that would lead the government to believe there were co-conspirators," Bowler said.

Poarch could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Mercer said he expects no further charges.

"It is my understanding there will not be any state or local charges because they feel everything has been settled at the federal level," he said. "Upon sentencing, we will go ahead and close the case."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.

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