Statue bomb suspect appears in court
Man, 25, could face up to 40 years in prison if found guilty
Seated at the defense table and awaiting a federal judge, Andrew Cecil Schneck stared at his empty hands, grinning slightly, a bemused look on his face.
The 25-year-old man charged last month with trying to bomb a Confederate statue in Hermann Park appeared briefly Tuesday morning in an olive green jail uniform before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy in Houston and said he understood the charges against him.
Did he understand he was charged with attempting to maliciously damage or destroy property and that if convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine?
“Yes, your honor,” he said, slumping forward a bit. He then entered a plea of not guilty, a routine practice for first appearances before a judge. His detention hearing was set for Sept. 26.
Philip Hilder, his defense attorney, said afterward, “We look forward to ultimately resolving this matter.” Hilder also said Schneck’s smile was not an indication he didn’t take the charges seriously, but was simply his normal facial expression.
Schneck, who lived with his parents near the Museum District, has a previous conviction from 2014 for storing explosives for which he earned a five years of probation.
According to court documents, Park Ranger Tamara Curtis found Schneck near the base of the park’s Dowling statue along with boxes containing a homemade detonator, a timer, wiring, a battery, a bottle of nitroglycerin and an explosive organic compound known as HMTD, short for hexamethylene triperoxide diamine.
Schneck reportedly tried to drink some of the liquid explosives after he was discovered, but “immediately spit the liquid on the ground ... then proceeded to pour the contents of the bottle on the ground next to him,” documents said.
The white marble statue of Lt. Richard Dowling, an Irish immigrant who lived in Houston and fought for the Confederacy, was erected in 1905 to honor the Confederate victory he led at Sabine Pass. A street named for Dowling was changed earlier this year to Emancipation Avenue. Schneck was arrested following scattered arrests and protests nationally over Confederate statutes and public monuments across the country.