Philadelphia man had explosives that 'could have leveled a block' in his home, prosecutors say

Nick Vadala, Chris Palmer and Max Marin, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct 9, 2024

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PHILADELPHIA — A man from Philadelphia's Mayfair neighborhood used his home as a makeshift explosives laboratory, possessing enough hazardous materials to "level" the area, law enforcement officials said at a news conference Wednesday.

Evgenii Sadrislamov, 27, faces charges that include arson and possessing weapons of mass destruction in connection with the alleged laboratory, which the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said was discovered after firefighters and police responded to a fire at the home Friday.

First responders arrived at the scene on the 7100 block of Montague Street just after 7 p.m., and brought Sadrislamov and his mother outside after finding smoke coming from the garage. Police also evacuated nearby residents as a precaution before conducting a search, the DA's office said.

Inside, investigators found explosives manufacturing materials and tools in the home's basement and garage, including fuses and chemicals used to make homemade explosives, Deputy Commissioner James Kelly III said Wednesday. Police declared the property a hazardous materials scene, and received assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Department of Homeland Security.

About 50 pounds of explosives were taken from the residence, officials said.

"This was a huge danger to the community. A rowhome possessed explosives that could have leveled a block," Assistant District Attorney Angela Brennan, chief of the major trials unit at the DA's office, said Wednesday. "Because of that, we will not rest until this is vigorously prosecuted."

Sadrislamov pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count of criminal mischief and was sentenced to four years probation, court records show. Details about the case were not immediately available, but Brennan said at Wednesday's news conference that Sadrismalov's conviction also related to having explosive materials in his house.

"At that time though ... those were considered to be commercial-grade fireworks. There's a difference between what he possessed in 2020 and what was discovered this weekend," Brennan said. "There's been a clear escalation in the sophistication and scale of the operation."

Andriy Lykatskyy, a landlord for Sadrislamov from 2021 to 2023, said Sadrislamov always paid his rent on time, and save for a few noise complaints from neighbors, was not a problematic tenant.

Lykatskyy recalled him as a shy, somewhat socially awkward young man who would work on projects in the garage — of what nature, he never knew.

"He would mill through metal with some kind of instrument. There was a lot of metal shavings all over the garage when he moved out," Lykatskyy said. "But he was a pretty good tenant."

The owner of the Montague Street residence was not aware that the property had been housing an alleged bomb-making labratory until reached by The Inquirer on Wednesday. The owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being associated with the suspect's actions, said she spoke to Sadrislamov on Friday after the reported fire: "He said he and his mother were fine. Nothing other than that."

The property, she said, had been remodeled a little over a year ago, before Sadrislamov and his mother signed a lease. The two family members passed a background check, and she had not received complaints from neighbors.

Sadrislamov was arraigned on the newest set of charges on Sunday morning, court records show. He was being represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which declined to comment Wednesday.

Wednesday's announcement by prosecutors marked the second time in a month that the District Attorney's Office has held a news conference to discuss a case involving explosive devices.

In September, prosecutors revealed that another defendant, Muhyyee-Ud-Din Abdul-Rahman, 18, had conducted more than a dozen tests on homemade bombs near his family's house in the city's Wynnefield section in 2023. Abdul-Rahman — whom prosecutors said was aspiring to become a bomb-maker for overseas terrorist groups — also faces charges including possessing weapons of mass destruction and arson, and was being held on $5 million bail, prosecutors said.

Sadrislamov is being held on $950,000 bail. A preliminary hearing in his case is scheduled for Oct. 22.