A former Prince George's County Sheriff's Office lieutenant has been charged with supplying explosive materials and technical know-how to an Annapolis man who authorities say stockpiled dozens of homemade bombs, officials announced this week.

Micah Y. Sam, 51, of Brandywine, was arrested Wednesday and ordered held without bond at a Thursday court hearing. He faces two counts of possession of explosive material with intent to create a destructive device and one count of conspiracy to manufacture a destructive device, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Marshal's Office.

Sam, who served as a K-9 handler with the sheriff's office until he resigned in lieu of termination last November following an internal probe into timekeeping violations, is accused of meeting the case's original suspect, 37-year-old Lee Scott Wygal Ralston of Annapolis, twice aboard his boat at a marina south of the city in the spring of 2025. Charging documents allege Sam supplied Ralston with explosive materials and advised him on how to safely handle them and increase the devices' destructive power.

A case that started with poached deer

The investigation traces back to April 2026, when a search warrant tied to a Maryland Natural Resources Police probe into illegal night and roadside deer hunting led investigators to Ralston's home in the 1200 block of Blackwalnut Lane. There, according to the fire marshal's office, they recovered 32 suspected explosive devices of varying sizes and compositions, along with weapons, suppressors and ammunition. Ralston was charged with 64 felony counts — 32 for manufacturing and 32 for possessing destructive devices, per charging records reviewed by Daily Voice.

The Prince George's County Sheriff's Office, which employed Sam for years before his resignation, said in a statement reported by the Baltimore Sun that it takes the allegations seriously.

"This agency does not tolerate criminal conduct by its members, and we support the pursuit of justice in this case."

Investigators say Sam received specialized explosives training during his law enforcement career — training prosecutors allege he later turned around and passed on to Ralston rather than to keep the public safe from the very devices he helped build.

The probe has drawn in a wide array of agencies, including the Anne Arundel County Fire Department's Fire Investigation Bureau, the ATF, the FBI, Anne Arundel County police and the Annapolis Fire Department — a reflection, officials say, of how large and potentially dangerous the cache of devices was.

Sam is being represented by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, which has not commented on the charges. Investigators have described the explosives probe as active and ongoing, raising the possibility of additional charges or arrests as the case against both men moves forward. Ralston remains jailed on the original 64-count indictment; no trial date has been set for either defendant.