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Mark Barnett of Florida, has been arrested for allegedly plotting to place 10 explosive devices inside Target stores along the East Coast, beginning in the Syracuse area.

(Police mug shot)

OCALA, Fla. -- A Florida man has been accused of building nearly a dozen bombs and making plans to plant them in Target stores along the East Coast, including in Central New York.

Mark C. Barnett, 48, of Ocala, was charged with possession of a firearm (destructive device) affecting commerce by a previously convicted felon, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Barnett hatched the plan with the intention of drastically lowering Target's stock price, authorities said. Then he planned to buy up shares cheaply before the price eventually rebounded, authorities said.

Authorities said Barnett built at least 10 improvised bombs and disguised them in food packaging.

He offered a man who had worked for him $10,000 to deliver 10 packages, according to a federal complaint. The man declined because he thought the packages contained drugs, according to the complaint.

Barnett later told the man the packages were bombs that he wanted to place in Target stores up and down the East Coast, the complaint said.

The man asked Barnett if the bombs, placed in boxes of stuffing mix, breakfast bars, and pasta, would kill someone, according to the complaint.

"No, they'll just take your hand off," Barnett told the man, according to the complaint.

He delivered the bombs to the man on Feb. 9, authorities said. He also provided a bag with gloves, a mask and a license plate cover.

Barnett warned the man not to let the boxes bounce around or they would explode, according to the complaint.

They agreed the man would put one bomb in a Target as far north as Syracuse and work his way back to Florida, authorities said. It is not clear which Target store he planned to target in Central New York.

But the man who took the bombs from Barnett was a convicted felon and confidential source who turned the devices over to federal authorities.

An expert from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives later determined that the bombs were functional and could have caused damage. Federal agents raided Barnett's house, finding components similar to the ones used to make the original bombs.

If convicted Barnett could face 10 years in federal prison.

He is currently being held at the Marion County Jail in Florida on state charges of violating the terms of his probation.

Barnett is a registered sex offender on probation for numerous felony

offenses including kidnapping, multiple counts of sexual battery with a weapon or force, and grand theft, according to a criminal complaint filed with the case. Barnett was required to wear a Global Positioning System (GPS) ankle, the complaint said.