DURHAM -- Police have arrested a man for making a homemade bottle bomb and planning to use one at an unspecified dollar store.

Richard Demery, 29, is charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction. He's currently in jail on a $50,000 bond.

Search warrants reveal officers seized chemicals and electronic components from his home on Liberty Street. The home is a boarding house for recovering addicts, and Demery rented a room there.

Neighbor Kenneth Taylor tells Spectrum News he saw Demery set off an explosive device about a week ago.

“I thought someone had actually run over a pop bottle, a Coca-Cola bottle because I was sitting in my living room when I saw the mist or possibly smoke now,” Taylor said. “It's kind of scary that someone was making a bomb.”

Demery's house manager told officers his tenant described the recent Austin, TX bombings as “exciting” and had the materials to do the same.

“I am astonished. I'm very surprised,” said neighbor Thomas Stallings.

Demery is a parolee and has pending drug and larceny charges out of Pitt County. He's set to go back to court in April.