When Maximilien R. Reynolds wanted to buy an assault rifle, he believed he was prohibited from purchasing one so he looked for someone else to buy it for him, according to federal authorities.

In the fall of 2017, Reynolds paid an Ithaca man $1,200 to buy an AR-15 style rifle - a Savage MSR-15 Patrol rifle, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Syracuse. The man made $200 for buying the rifle, the complaint said.

A tip from a Walmart employee to Ithaca about suspicious purchases by Reynolds started an investigation that lead police last week to discover the assault weapon and bomb-making material in Reynolds' apartment in Ithaca's Collegetown.

Reynolds, 20, a Cornell student on a leave of absence, was charged Friday in federal court in Syracuse with two counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device/silencer, making false statement in acquisition of a firearm and making false statement in required firearm record.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Therese Wiley Dancks ordered that Reynolds undergo evaluation to assess his competency. His lawyer, Ray Schlather, said Reynolds is mentally ill.

How the Ithaca, state police and FBI tracked down Reynolds and his weapons/bomb cache was outlined in the criminal complaint filed in federal court.

An employee at the Wal-Mart called the Ithaca Police Department after Reynolds bought ammunition, camping gear, drill bits, hacksaw blades, miscellaneous tools and more with a gift card, the criminal complaint said.

On March 7, an Ithaca police investigator and two FBI special agents went to Reynolds' apartment at 111 Dryden Road, but only found his girlfriend, the complaint said. She was not identified by her name in court records.

Investigators said the apartment was messy, with piles of clothing, food and lab glassware scattered throughout it, the complaint said.

The three investigators, however, spotted camouflage clothing, knives, flashlights, what appeared to be a military-grade gas mask and a bulletproof vest, the complaint said. Mathematical writings in red ink had been written on a window, according to the complaint.

Reynolds' girlfriend told the investigators she was worried about Reynolds, who she said seemed "manic," was not taking his medications and slept little, the complaint said.

She then told officers he was likely at Tompkins-Cortland Community College taking a Wednesday class, the complaint said.

Though she initially agreed to a search of the apartment, she then declined because it was Reynolds' apartment, the complaint said. She agreed to call an FBI agent when Reynolds returned.

When he came home, Reynolds agreed to speak to officers. He admitted to buying the items at Wal-Mart and having knives in the apartment, but initially denied having a rifle, the complaint said.

Eventually, Reynolds admitted he had a rifle in a bag after being questioned about the ammunition he bought at Wal-Mart earlier in the day, the complaint said.

He also admitted to buying the hacksaw blade to shorten the barrel of his rifle, which he told the three men he had purchased from a federally licensed firearms dealer, the complaint said.

Reynolds allowed them to search his apartment and said he no longer wanted to have the rifle, weapons and items in his apartment, which he allowed an Ithaca police investigator to take, the complaint said.

The men found a Savage MSR-15 Patrol rifle in a bag in Reynolds' apartment, the complaint said. They also found a fuel filter with holes in each end, the complaint said. When asked if he intended it use it as a silencer, he nodded his head, indicating yes, the complaint said.

According to the National Firearm Registration and Transaction Record, no firearms are registered to Reynolds, the complaint said.

In the apartment, Reynolds had more than 300 live rounds of ammunition, much of it in high capacity magazine clips compatible with his MSR-15 Patrol rifle, the complaint said. He also had ballistic body armor, a gas mask, a metal pipe with one endcap and ball barings of various sizes that could be used as shrapnel, the complaint said.

The three men then waited for additional bomb technicians from the New York State Police and FBI because investigators found chemicals often used to make homemade explosives, the complaint said.

Fireworks were thrown in a plastic bin in the apartment, including a mortar firework that appeared to have shotgun shell pellets taped to it with black tape, the complaint said.

Mortar rounds often have a powder lift charge in the bottom, though the mortar round with shells taped to it had the fuse exposed, allowing it to be lit, the complaint said. If the mortar exploded, it would have shot pellets like a bomb, the complaint said.

The bomb technicians and special agents also found unmodified mortar rounds and various sized ball bearings, the complaint said.

After the search, Reynolds voluntarily agreed to be taken to Cayuga Medical Center for admission and a psychiatric evaluation, the complaint said.

Ithaca police and the FBI interviewed the man who bought the file on March 8 about the purchase and eventually asked him to speak at the police department, the complaint said.

It's unclear clear why Reynolds thought he couldn't buy an assault weapon. Court records report the Ithaca police detained him in June 2016 under a state law that allows authorities to hold a person who is a threat to themselves or others.

Initially, the man, identified as A.R., said he had never bought a gun but later admitted that he and Reynolds planned the purchase of the gun in the fall.

One day later, bomb technicians and investigators searched two self-storage units at I-Deal Self Storage, 2127 Slaterville Road, Ithaca that were rented by Reynolds. They found chemicals used to make homemade explosives, suspected smokeless powder, a firework mortar round and pyrotechnic round, the complaint said.

The FBI arrested him late Thursday night while he was being treated at the Cayuga Medical's Behavioral Sciences Unit, said Ray Schlather, Reynolds' lawyer. The court ordered Friday that Reynolds' treatment continue and Schlather said Reynolds has not entered a plea.

In court Friday, Schlather said Reynolds has been diagnosed with schizoaffective bipolar disorder with paranoid features, according to the Cornell Daily Sun. Schlather argued that Reynolds suffers from "a huge paranoia of the world beyond him" and is dedicated to "protecting himself from that world."

"Max is quite ill," Schlather said in an email.