GREENSBORO, N.C. — Court records reveal new details about Ryan Routh's criminal history in Guilford County. Routh is facing federal gun charges in connection to what the FBI is calling an attempted assignation of former President Donald Trump.
Guilford County Superior Court records show in 2002 Routh was convicted for having a weapon of mass destruction. We now know that weapon was an "explosive with a 10-inch detonation cord and a blasting cap."
In exchange for pleading guilty, the state gave him 60 months of probation where his firearms and explosives were seized and destroyed by Greensboro police. He also had to have a mental evaluation. (Editor's note: we are working to see if Routh completed this requirement and how it went).
Records also show Routh's criminal background in North Carolina stretches back to 1984 when he had a failure to report an accident charge.
In 2010, Routh said he had never tried drugs or alcohol. That's the same year he was convicted of possession of stolen property. A judge wrote that Routh's stolen property conviction was the possession of three trailers of stolen tools and building materials (welding torches, tanks, carts, power cords, etc) from sites where he worked as a roofer. He also had a stolen pickup truck.
A police investigator found Routh kept the stolen property at his business and the property was a big mess. When a neighbor asked him to clean up the property "he pulled a knife on him and told him to leave the property."
The property owner said Routh was using the property with no lease and without her knowledge.
A retired Greensboro police officer said Routh had dozens of run-ins with the law while he was on the force. Guilford County District Attorney Chris Parrish said he would not speculate on how Routh was able to walk away with a handful of convictions after being arrested numerous times.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office released Routh's booking photo on Thursday. He's set to appear in court on Monday, Sept. 23.
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