By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First

A federal jury has convicted a Bennington drug user on two felony charges concerning possession of an unregistered bomb at his former residence two years ago.

Tyler J. Hayes, 42, was convicted for possession of a destructive device between September 2022 and February 2023 in North Bennington.

The jury also found Hayes guilty of a second felony count for being an unlawful user of controlled substances, including fentanyl while knowingly possessing the homemade bomb.

Bennington Police reported a property manager for 351 Overlea Road found the homemade bomb on Feb. 16, 2023, shortly after Hayes moved out.

The jury deliberated about 9 hours over two days before returning the verdict in U.S. District Court on Thursday  afternoon — the sixth day of the trial.

Visiting Federal Judge Joseph N. Laplante of New Hampshire agreed Hayes needed to remain in custody pending sentencing.

Hayes faces up to 10 years on the bomb possession charge and 15 years on the drug count.

The bomb detection came during part of an extended period that saw Bennington dealing with a major uptick in violence and drugs, including drive-by shootings and a couple of homicides, officials said.  Most involved drug traffickers that were linked to out-of-state gang members that relocated to the Bennington area. 

Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette said Friday he was pleased by the guilty verdicts.  He noted the convictions were due to an ongoing combined federal, state and local effort to combat drugs and violence.

“We were fortunate to recover the bomb before something bad happened with it,” Doucette said.

It was constructed from a combination of a pipe bomb and flammable liquids stored in plastic water bottles.

Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher praised the team effort in gaining the convictions.

Assisting in the case were U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Vermont State Police Bomb Squad, which defused the bomb.

“The superb organization and presentation of evidence at trial demonstrated not only that Hayes was guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt, but also the extreme danger he presented to the community,” Drescher said.

Bennington Cpl. David Faden, the day shift supervisor, and Officer James Macaulay were among the 14 witnesses presented by the prosecution.

HSI Special Agent James Garbone, who was embedded with Bennington Police due to the ongoing violence at the time, and ATF Special Agent Scott Murray also took the witness stand for the government.

Also testifying was an inmate who reported he received death threats from Hayes while they were housed at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.

Michael Eldredge, an explosives expert from ATF, also testified that while the homemade bomb was rudimentary and simplistic, it was still capable of causing substantial destruction and injury had it been detonated, Drescher said.   

Hayes, who did not take the witness stand, had provided housing for out-of-state drug dealers, records show.

Defense lawyer James Valente used cross examination and seven defense witnesses to try to poke holes in the government case.  

Hayes and his partner, Susan Cross, had moved out from the apartment house in connection with eviction proceedings, records show.  Hayes never took precautions to make sure the bomb did not fall into the wrong hands or detonate inadvertently, according to court records and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The Bennington Police investigation revealed Hayes initially attempted to sell an earlier version of the bomb to  Miguel Perez-Agramonte in exchange for fentanyl/heroin in the fall of 2022, court records show.

Three individuals later told law enforcement that Hayes had indicated in January and February 2023 that he had a bomb, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne M. Smith, who prosecuted the case with Nicole Cate.

“He told those individuals that he intended to use the bomb against the next person who angered him or disrespected him,” Smith had said in her detention motion when Hayes was indicted in January 2024.

Bennington Police arrested Hayes on Jan. 19, 2024 during a raid on River Street and turned him over to Homeland Security to face the federal charges. 

Investigators said at the time the device was a fully assembled and functional pipe bomb that the defendant built himself.

Hayes has a felony drug trafficking conviction in New York in 2009 and about 17 misdemeanor convictions, court records show.

They include false information to police in 2020, disorderly conduct by fighting in 2016 and cocaine possession, resisting arrest and contempt of court in the early 2000s, court records show.