Explosives, weapons and illegal fireworks seized

Detectives with the Martin County Sheriff's Office are continuing an investigation at 907 Ocean Blvd., in Stuart, Florida, where approximately $100,000 in illegal fireworks, explosive materials, several weapons, and a large amount of cash has been discovered. Acting on information from a confidential informant, Detectives began an investigation on July 1, 2009, and at approximately 6:00 p.m. today members of the Martin County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division, Tactical Unit, SWAT Team, Bomb Disposal Team, and Special Investigations Section served a search warrant at the above address. Homeowner James Buhs (W/M, 06/19/63) was taken into custody without incident and multiple charges are pending at this time. Buhs is a convicted felon with a history that includes possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a machine gun. 

Detectives discovered inside the three-bedroom single-family residence and garage hundreds of boxes of fireworks marked with names including "city crasher", "solar flare", "rumble ramble", "Molotov cocktail" and "pyro protest" stacked floor to ceiling in addition to materials for professional displays and cylinders to shoot fireworks into the air. Detectives have also discovered a large quantity of black powder, the components for making black powder, numerous firearms, and a large quantity of cash. Martin County Sheriff's Office Bomb Disposal Team Detective Bill Jones stated that in his 20 years of experience in both Florida and New York this is the largest cache of explosives and fireworks he has ever seen inside a residence and, if ignited, the homes in the surrounding area would have been destroyed.