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Article updated: 10/10/2012 8:35 AM

Motel workers foil local man's church bomb plot?

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This undated photo provided by the Ottawa County (Okla.) Sheriff Department shows Gregory Arthur Weiler II. Prosecutors have filed charges against the Illinois man accused of plotting to bomb nearly 50 Oklahoma churches. Weiler has been charged under the state's anti-terrorism act.

Associated Press

Ralph Smith, a maintenance worker at the Legacy Inn & Suites, stands in front of the trash bin where he found discarded bomb-making materials on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, in Miami, Okla. Smith reported the find to authorities last week, and they later arrested Gregory Arthur Weiler II for possession of an explosive device.

Associated Press

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Ralph Smith, a maintenance worker at Legacy Inn & Suites, shows where he found discarded bomb-making materials last week in a trash bin outside the motel on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, in Miami, Okla. Smith reported his find to authorities, who arrested a motel guest for possessing an explosive device.

Associated PRess

This June 2007 family photo provided by the Weiler/Meyers family shows, Greg Weiler at his high school graduation from Elk Grove High School, in Elk Grove Village, Ill. Wieler who has a a long history of mental illness has been charged with plotting to attack dozens of churches in Oklahoma with homemade Molotov cocktails. Weiler's parents both committed suicide, and Weiler has battled drug addiction and ìa lot of mental illnesses that led to a suicide attempt in the eighth grade, said his cousin Johnny Meyers. Meyers' parents served as legal guardians for Weiler after the death of his parents. He said family members in suburban Chicago believe Weiler must have stopped taking his medication and planned to go to Oklahoma to see him.

Associated Press

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According to an affidavit filed by Det. Jeff Frazier, a maintenance worker alerted Miami police after noticing a pile of brown bottles with cloth wicks attached by duct tape in a trash bin at the Legacy Inn and Suites, which sits just off a major interstate. “I don’t feel like I’m a hero or anything like that,” Ralph Smith told The Associated Press Tuesday. “We were doing it because we want the public to know people can stay here and this is not a bad place.”

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    • This undated photo provided by the Ottawa County (Okla.) Sheriff Department shows Gregory Arthur Weiler II. Prosecutors have filed charges against the Illinois man accused of plotting to bomb nearly 50 Oklahoma churches. Weiler has been charged under the state’s anti-terrorism act.
    • Ralph Smith, a maintenance worker at the Legacy Inn & Suites, stands in front of the trash bin where he found discarded bomb-making materials on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, in Miami, Okla. Smith reported the find to authorities last week, and they later arrested Gregory Arthur Weiler II for possession of an explosive device.
    • Ralph Smith, a maintenance worker at Legacy Inn & Suites, shows where he found discarded bomb-making materials last week in a trash bin outside the motel on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, in Miami, Okla. Smith reported his find to authorities, who arrested a motel guest for possessing an explosive device.
    • This June 2007 family photo provided by the Weiler/Meyers family shows, Greg Weiler at his high school graduation from Elk Grove High School, in Elk Grove Village, Ill. Wieler who has a a long history of mental illness has been charged with plotting to attack dozens of churches in Oklahoma with homemade Molotov cocktails. Weiler’s parents both committed suicide, and Weiler has battled drug addiction and ìa lot of mental illnesses that led to a suicide attempt in the eighth grade, said his cousin Johnny Meyers. Meyers’ parents served as legal guardians for Weiler after the death of his parents. He said family members in suburban Chicago believe Weiler must have stopped taking his medication and planned to go to Oklahoma to see him.
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