A former U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal expert in suburban Kansas City is accused by federal prosecutors of illegally possessing grenades.
Forty-two-year-old John Panchalk of Overland Park, Kansas, was charged Friday with one count of possessing two fragmentation grenades unregistered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Panchalk initially had been charged by Kansas state prosecutors with one count of criminal use of explosives. But that felony was dropped Friday to give way to the federal charge.
Panchalk, who also is a firearms instructor at a Johnson County shooting range, was arrested late Thursday after authorities searched his home.
When investigators executed a search warrant at his home, they found 38 pounds of C-4 explosives, detonation cord, blasting caps, grenade simulators, incendiary devices and tow M-67 fragmentation grenades, according to court records.
Online court records do not show whether Panchalk has an attorney.
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