Man Charged In Bomb Incident Indicted

Leonard

By: Daniel Gilbert | TriCities.com
Published: July 16, 2009

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – A Sullivan County grand jury handed down several indictments Tuesday against a man charged with strapping himself to a bomb and prompting an evacuation of his neighborhood.
John Michael Leonard, 25, was indicted on felony charges of possessing a prohibited weapon, reckless endangerment, attempting to commit arson and theft over $500. He also was indicted on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and domestic assault.
Leonard, who family members said suffered from bipolar disorder, spiraled out control in mid-March, when he is accused of punching his father and the next day rigging a homemade bomb. The explosive device included two oxygen tanks that Leonard is charged with stealing.
Authorities evacuated the neighborhood surrounding Leonard’s Bluff City mobile home, near Sullivan East High School. After a standoff that lasted several hours, police officers forcibly took him into custody. But they were not able to diffuse the bomb.
The device was filled with gunpowder, nails and “any type of flammable liquid that he could find” in his home, according to the affidavit detailing the complaint. It exploded with such force that it blew a “large metal fragment” to a parking lot several hundred yards away, the affidavit states. No one was injured.
dgilbert@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2558

Man Charged In Bomb Incident Indicted

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