MIAMI COUNTY — Federal agents and local bomb squads have spent a second day working to safely carry out a search warrant involving possible explosives inside an area doctor’s Miami County home.
The operation began Thursday afternoon in downtown Dayton and Concord Twp, which is near Troy. It continued into Friday in Concord Twp. at a home belonging to Dr. Steven Werling, an independent practitioner with privileges at Upper Valley Medical Center and Kettering Health Main Campus.
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As we reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, Michelle Fellers said she heard an FBI agent tell a sheriff’s deputy that they found large amounts of material inside the home.
“It’s really unsettling to find out that material, I mean it could have taken out blocks of this neighborhood,” Fellers said.
As News Center 7 previously reported, Werling was arrested Thursday night. A Miami County Sheriff’s Office report claimed he admitted to manufacturing explosive devices at the home. During their search, the FBI recovered six suspected explosive devices, along with lots of explosive components.
Werling was charged on Friday with one count of possession of dangerous ordnance, according to Miami County Municipal Court records. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and had a $2 million bond set.
Troy Canavan said the situation is “completely surreal.”
“It’s kind of mind-numbing, especially (since) it’s in your backyard,” he said.
Canavan said he knew a doctor lived in the house, but he didn’t think that would pose a threat.
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“Hey, you’re going to have a bomb-maker in your backyard. I don’t know what else to call it, and then they’re still defusing bombs the next day. That part blows your mind away,” Canavan said.
While investigators were in Concord Twp. on Thursday, they were also on Monument Avenue in Dayton to conduct a connected search.
News Center 7 went to the federal courthouse in Dayton, as well as Dayton Municipal Court on Friday to see if any documents were filed regarding the searches and investigation, but nothing else had been filed.
The sheriff’s office report laid out enough information that the people in the doctor’s neighborhood are thankful bomb squads arrived before damage was done. Now the focus is on what the doctor was doing and why.
“Just because he’s a doctor doesn’t mean he’s not a criminal,” Fellers said.
Werling remans booked in the Miami County Jail.