COLUMBIA, SC — A Batesburg-Leesville man pleaded guilty Monday to having two pipe bombs at his Lexington County meth lab.

Shannon Alton Crapps, 42, of Batesburg-Leesville pleaded guilty to possession of an improvised explosive bomb without registering the device before U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. Crapps faces a maximum punishment of $10,000 or 10 years in prison.

Lexington County Sheriff’s deputies found the pipe bombs Nov. 17, 2009, after they received a tip about a mobile meth lab in Batesburg-Leesville. During the investigation, the deputies obtained search warrants for Crapps’ home.

They found chemicals, chemical sprayers, rubber tubing, ether and Coleman fuel inside the home, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. Outside, agents found a burn pile that contained an 11 ounce can of Gumout starter fluid with holes in the bottom, burnt blister packs and packing film for lithium strips from batteries.

The pipe bombs were found in a drawer near the front door. Crapps admitted he made the devices and had not properly registered them, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The case was investigated by Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Reach Phillips at (803) 771-8307.