A Baltimore County judge ordered a Dundalk man to remain in jail Tuesday on weapons charges after police said they neutralized “destructive devices” found in the 55-year-old’s SUV that caused them to evacuate a White Marsh hardware store last Friday.

In her ruling, Baltimore County District Judge Susan Zellweger rejected an argument by defense attorney T. Wray McCurdy that his client, Michael Cameron, was simply carrying fireworks that were lawfully purchased in Pennsylvania.

The judge noted that Baltimore County Police investigators had not described the explosives as fireworks, but rather a “pyrotechnic mixture” repurposed into an “improvised destructive device.” Zellweger also noted that Cameron had given police an “entirely different explanation” for having the explosives — he used them as props for videos he posted online.

The incident in the parking lot prompted officers to evacuate a Lowe’s on the 5300 block of Campbell Boulevard in White Marsh last Friday after an anonymous 911 caller reported seeing weapons in a Cadillac SUV, police wrote in charging documents. Those weapons turned out to be BB guns, though several types of ammunition were later found in the vehicle along with the “suspicious” devices, one of which was in a backpack, police wrote.

A bomb technician “determined the device was filled with energetic/explosive material constructed in a manner that was consistent with an improvised destructive device,” police wrote.

Police said in a news release last week that members of the county’s Hazardous Devices Team “conducted three controlled disposals” in the parking lot. A search for more explosives yielded multiple types of ammunition including a handgun magazine, police wrote in charging documents. Cameron is barred from possessing firearms due to a prior conviction, police wrote.

McCurdy said at Tuesday afternoon’s bail review that the magazine belonged to one of Cameron’s relatives, who is based in Florida and used the car to travel.

“Apparently, [the Cadillac] attracts some attention,” said McCurdy.

He noted that his client, a Marine who served in the Gulf War, hasn’t had any legal issues since a child abuse conviction roughly 25 years ago, he noted. He said Cameron works as a handyman and had picked up fireworks with his significant other at Phantom Fireworks in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania.

Most air-based fireworks are illegal in Maryland and Pennsylvania, though shops across Maryland’s northern border can legally sell display fireworks to out-of-state residents and advertise on billboards around the Baltimore area.

Zellweger added that she was “very concerned” about the various types of ammunition found in the Cadillac. She ordered for Cameron to remain held without bail in the Baltimore County Detention Center. He’s scheduled for a court hearing in January.

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