Ryan Wesley Routh, the alleged would-be Donald Trump assassin, set up a sniper’s nest near the former US President’s golf course and hid there for about 12 hours before the apparent ambush attempt, federal prosecutors said Monday, September 16.
Routh’s cell phone pinged to the spot on the edge of Trump International West Palm Beach starting from 1:59 a.m. on Sunday, the federal criminal complaint said.
His gun barrel was spotted by a Secret Service agent at about 1:30 p.m. while Trump was on the golf course 300-500 yards away.
In the sniper’s nest agents found a digital camera, two bags and a loaded SKS-style rifle that had a serial number that was scratched off and unreadable, according to the complaint.
SKS-style rifles are not manufactured in Florida and the weapon was either brought in from another state or country, the FBI complaint reads.
According to the FBI, moments after the Secret Service agent fired at Routh, a witness saw the suspect speeding away from the golf course in a Nissan sports vehicle that had stolen license plates.
According to the complaint, Routh was convicted in 2002 in Greensboro, North Carolina after he was found with a weapon of mass destruction.
He was later convicted in 2010 of multiple counts of possession of stolen goods, per the complaint.