Man With Pipe Bomb that Cause Closure of Pearl Street Now in Custody
Federal authorities have taken custody of a man charged with bringing a pipe bomb to a Colchester business and sparked the subsequent closure of Pearl Street
By Michael Donoghue - Vermont News First
Federal authorities have taken custody of a man charged with bringing a pipe bomb to a Colchester business and sparked the subsequent closure of Pearl Street in Burlington for more than seven hours Sunday while possible explosive materials were removed, according to state court records.
Justin L. Perkins, 40, formerly of Starksboro had pleaded not guilty in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Friday to a charge of possession of a destructive device in Colchester.
Judge Tim Doherty set bail at $10,000 on the explosives charge during the arraignment in state court for Perkins, but also ordered him held without bail for treatment court, state records show.
By Monday the state court had entered a notation on the case docket: “Defendant is in Federal Custody as of 8/22/2025. Writ is needed if defendant's presence is required at hearing.”
The second sentence in the docket notation means a superior court judge will need to sign off on getting Perkins back from the feds for any hearing in state court.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who are normally responsive to media inquiries, did not respond Monday to multiple calls and texts.
No public criminal charges were filed on Monday in federal court against Perkins, but any criminal complaint could be placed under seal until a court hearing is scheduled.
The notation in the state court file about Perkins being in federal custody was made public one day after a massive traffic jam in Burlington due to a report of a suspicious package, possibly two pipe bombs, at an apartment at 90 Pearl Street. The major east-west road was closed down and traffic re-routed.
Perkins had recently stayed at the fourth-floor apartment just east of the former Bove’s restaurant, but had moved out leaving some suspicious items behind, officials said.
Two co-workers reported Perkins demeanor had changed recently, Colchester Police said. Police were told Perkins mother had recently passed away and that he had been in state court for a custody hearing involving the Department for Families and Children on Aug. 19.
One co-worker noted Perkins was “a little wired and energetic like he was under the influence,” and described him as “strung out.” He suspected he was likely on “uppers, street talk for cocaine/crack, police said in an affidavit.
Taking the lead on the suspicious item case Sunday afternoon was the Vermont State Police Bomb Squad, which responded along with the Vermont Hazardous Materials Response Team to help Burlington Police and Fire.
Pearl Street, near Pine Street was closed down for about 7 ½ hours before the all-clear sign was given about 11 p.m.
Nobody was willing to speak Sunday night, and State Police remained tight-lipped on Monday. Calls were being referred back to Burlington Police, which had summoned the bomb squad. They offered no comment.
Court documents show a very dismal record when prosecuting Perkins in the past.
His record has 15 felony charges with only one conviction. He has 43 misdemeanor charges with 9 convictions. He has been involved in 3 assaultive cases and convicted once and he has 6 charges for violating court orders or court conditions and convicted once, records show.
Colchester Police said last Friday they arrested Perkins after he reportedly brought a homemade pipe bomb to a construction site off Dylan Avenue off Severance Road the week before.
David Wilcox had expressed concern about his employees. Perkins wanted his co-workers to ignite the bomb in a sand pit behind the structure they were building on Aug. 14, police said.
Witnesses described the bomb as about 9 to 12 inches long and three inches in diameter, similar to the size of a water bottle, police said.
Wilcox said Andrew Defoe and Max Barrier were among the employees that saw the device, a court affidavit noted. The device was last seen as Perkins left the job site in a blue Honda Pilot on Aug. 14, police said.
Five days after the initial complaint, Colchester Officer Haydn Lopes reported he spoke to Defoe and learned Perkins was looking to detonate the device at the end of the workday on Aug. 14. Perkins was carrying the device in rags and multiple bags, police said.
Defoe reported Perkins said it was simple to make and had four ingredients, court records noted.
Defoe said Perkins also had bragged he had been building ghost AR-15 rifles at his residence with some kind of machine, Lopes said in a court affidavit.
Perkins also asked co-workers where he could purchase a grenade launcher, claiming he could make munitions himself with his machine, records show.
Barrier said Perkins had talked about building bombs for two weeks and he was using a military munitions handbook for directions, police said. The bomb included black powder in a PVC pipe, police said.
Barrier also described Perkins as being “off” on his demeanor and had bags under his eyes and talked faster than normal, police said.
Deputy State’s Attorney Alexandra Sturges applied for an arrest warrant last Thursday, Aug. 21, from a judge when Colchester Police were unable to find Perkins at any of his last four known addresses.
His sister, who lives in Colchester, had said Starksboro was his last known address as far as she knew, records show. Police also had an address on West Street in Essex Junction for Perkins.
Sturges told the court Perkins had not shown up at work since Aug. 15, one day after he brought the pipe bomb to his construction job.