NYC couple arrested after explosive substance find

Updated at 12:37 p.m. ET

NEW YORK A Manhattan couple was facing weapons charges Monday after authorities said they found a substance used to make bombs and papers titled "The Terrorist Encyclopedia" in their Greenwich Village apartment.

Morgan Gliedman, 27, and her 31-year-old boyfriend, Aaron Greene, were arrested on weapons-possession charges Saturday after officers with a search warrant discovered a plastic container with 7 grams of HMTD, a highly explosive white powder used in bomb making, police and prosecutors said.

Also found in the living room were numerous written items containing instructions on the manufacture of explosive materials and bombs, including a collection of pages that had a cover page entitled "The Terrorist Encyclopedia," court papers said.

According to the court papers, chemical precursors to HMTD also were found in the living room.

The find prompted New York police to evacuate three buildings in Greenwich Village Saturday, CBS New York station WCBS-TV reports.

A police spokesman said the NYPD warrant squad went to the home Saturday morning to look for a woman and spotted the white substance in an ashtray, WCBS-TV reports. The substance was removed to a police firing range for analysis.

Police said investigators also found a shotgun and two magazine clips for handguns, WCBS-TV reports.

Greene was held without bail after he appeared in state court in Manhattan on Sunday. Gliedman, who is nine months pregnant, was awaiting an initial court appearance. It was not clear who will represent her in court.

"The whole situation's sad," said attorney Lisa Pelosi, who represented Greene. She declined further comment. He is due back in court Friday.

The New York Post reported in its Monday editions that Gliedman is the daughter of a prominent Manhattan doctor. It described her boyfriend as a Harvard graduate and an Occupy Wall Street activist.

The newspaper said police went to the apartment with a search warrant stemming from a credit card-theft case. It said weapons recovered included a flare launcher, a commercial replica of a grenade launcher, a 12-gauge shotgun, ammunition and nine high-capacity rifle magazines.