( CNN ) -- Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a 19-year-old Russian man Friday and charged him with possession of a weapon of mass destruction , Altoona police said in a written statement . Police officers were investigating a reported marijuana-growing operation when they discovered a homemade bomb and bomb-making materials in a suitcase , the news release said . Vladislav Miftakhov , a Russian citizen , was arrested and charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction , risking a catastrophe and drug-related offenses . He was arraigned Friday and bail was set at $ 500,000 , Blair County corrections officer James McMahon said Sunday . According to a criminal complaint , police found one pound of atomized magnesium and one pound of Chinese potassium perchlorate along with a package labeled potassium nitrate powder . They also found fuses and several containers of compressed air . When asked what he was going to do with two devices that were found with exposed fuses , Miftakhov said `` he was going to blow things up , '' the complaint alleges . Miftakhov later said he only intended to set devices off in a field and was n't going to blow anything up , the document says . He told police that he had previously experimented with other homemade explosives in California . Authorities found five marijuana seedlings and a grow light , the complaint says . Miftakhov will next appear in court on February 5 . He will be assigned a public defender , McMahon said . The Pennsylvania State Police bomb squad `` safely deconstructed '' the device , officials said . According to the release , Miftakhov told officers that he had purchased materials for the bomb on the Internet . A man who lived in the same building told CNN affiliate WTAJ that Miftakhov was `` the weirdest individual that I 've ever met , '' but Andrew Leff added that he did n't think Miftakhov had done anything dangerous before . Leff told the Altoona Mirror , which identified him as an apartment-mate , that Miftakhov had recently set off three small homemade bombs outside the apartment , leaving small craters in the ground . Another roommate , Steven Taylor , said Miftakhov was quiet . `` He barely talked , '' he told the newspaper . An independent student newspaper said the Russian native is a student at Penn State Altoona , a branch of the university about 40 miles from the main campus . The Altoona campus has about 3,645 full-time students , according to the school 's website . Austin bomb an amateur job or something more insidious ? Seattle hash oil kitchen explodes ; marijuana farm in basement . CNN 's AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report .
NEW : Criminal complaint says suspect was found with three devices with exposed fuses . NEW : Miftakhov said he was going to set off devices in a field , document says . Vladislav Miftakhov , a 19-year-old Chinese citizen , was arrested February 5 . Officers originally went to his residence to check for marijuana plants .