A former Prince George’s County sheriff’s lieutenant has been charged in connection with an Annapolis investigation into homemade explosive devices, according to court records and local reporting. Investigators allege Micah Sam, of Brandywine, supplied explosive material to an Annapolis man and discussed how the material could be used to make destructive devices. Sam was arrested Wednesday and ordered held without bond at a hearing Thursday.
He is charged with possession of explosive material with intent to create a destructive device and with conspiring to create an explosive device, The Baltimore Banner reported, citing charging documents. He is being represented by the Office of the Public Defender, which did not immediately comment. The charges grew out of the case against Lee Scott Wygal Ralston, 37, of Annapolis.
In April, investigators searched a home in the 1200 block of Blackwalnut Lane and reported recovering a large number of suspected explosive devices, along with materials consistent with building them. Ralston was charged with 32 felony counts of manufacturing a destructive device and 32 felony counts of possessing a destructive device. Authorities have said the devices varied in size and composition. Charging papers described some as containing BBs, some as designed to be detonated remotely, and some as containing homemade flash powder.
That search began as a months-long Maryland Natural Resources Police inquiry into alleged illegal night hunting and hunting from a roadway. Officials have said the wildlife investigation included an incident in which a residence was struck by gunfire. Natural Resources Police also reported seizing weapons, optics, suppressors, and ammunition. Additional hunting-related charges were described as pending after Ralston’s arrest.
According to charging documents summarized by The Banner, investigators later concluded that Ralston obtained explosive material from a law enforcement source who was a customer at a marina. Ralston allegedly texted his mother and his then-girlfriend about that source and identified the officer to his mother as being with the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators say they then found a message thread on Ralston’s phone between him and Sam. Authorities allege the two discussed boating and explosives between March and July 2025.
On March 23, 2025, Sam allegedly wrote that he had “what we talked about on my boat.” On May 17, Ralston allegedly asked whether he needed to bring anything to “transfer” the explosive material. Sam allegedly replied that he did not think so, adding that it was “super stable,” and investigators said the two met that day. WJLA and FOX45, citing court records, reported that investigators believe Sam met Ralston twice aboard Sam’s boat at a marina south of Annapolis in the spring of 2025.
Authorities allege Sam supplied explosive materials and advised Ralston on handling them and on increasing the devices’ impact. The Banner reported that the message thread included references to ingredients used in making explosive devices, including oxidizers, ammonium nitrate, black powder, and potassium perchlorate, along with questions about measurements. Ralston allegedly told Sam he was making the devices in carbon dioxide canisters and, in the messages, acknowledged that possessing the devices was a felony. Those remain allegations.
Sam has not been convicted. Court records cited by WJLA do not specify where he obtained the material. A source in Prince George’s County government told that station the sheriff’s office has not identified any missing explosives. Sam was no longer a working deputy when he was arrested.
He had been a lieutenant and K-9 handler and, according to WJLA, once led the agency’s K-9 unit. Reporting also describes him as a longtime deputy who received specialized explosives training. The Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office said he was placed on administrative duty during an internal investigation related to timekeeping, described in later accounts as alleged wage theft, and resigned in the fall of 2025. Sheriff John Carr said Sam was not performing regular duties when the alleged offenses occurred.
In a statement after the arrest, the sheriff’s office said law enforcement officers hold a position of public trust and that any deputy or officer, current or former, who breaks the law should be held fully accountable. Ralston’s case is proceeding separately. He was initially held without bond. At an April 23 bail hearing in Anne Arundel District Court in Glen Burnie, his attorney, David Fischer, said there was “zero evidence he intended to use these against anybody.”
Fischer described the devices as carbon dioxide canisters and “an amusement thing,” and said they had been moved from a rural family property outside Salisbury to Annapolis so Ralston’s nieces could not get them. Ben Parker, an investigator with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told the judge he estimated each device held between 30 and 50 grams of explosive powder. Maryland’s limit for a legal firecracker, he said, is 50 milligrams.
Parker testified that the devices could kill a person if placed in the mouth or near the heart. Judge Shaem C.P. Spencer denied bail at that hearing. Ralston was later released on May 14.
A jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 15. Sam’s arrest has drawn attention because of his former rank. Investigators say a sheriff’s lieutenant with explosives training later became the alleged source of material used in homemade destructive devices found in a residential Annapolis neighborhood.
Prosecutors have not proven that claim in court. Both men are presumed innocent unless and until a judge or jury finds otherwise. The investigation remains active. No public court date beyond Sam’s initial no-bond order has been widely reported.
