Pop Bottle ‘Bomb’ In Rural Retreat Causes Stir

The law calls it a hoax, but the plastic bottle that exploded in a Rural Retreat yard early Thursday morning was flinging out real projectile.
“It did blow up,“ said Sheriff Doug King.
Three people were arrested after King said they threw a pop bottle filled with toilet bowl cleaner, aluminum foil and marbles toward a Cedar Springs Road residence.
While the Code of Virginia only classifies bombs as objects that actually detonate with flammable material, King said the concoction used Thursday still caused an explosion.
Roxanne J. Deskins, Kenneth D. Davis and Billie Jane Davis, all of Rural Retreat, were each charged with one count of constructing a hoax explosive devise and one count of conspiring to use a hoax bomb, both of which are class 6 felonies.
The charges each carry a prison sentence of between one and five years or a jail term of less than a year coupled with a fine of not more than $2,500.
Deskins, 44, was arrested shortly after the incident occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. Thursday. King said the Davises, 45 and 37, respectively, were taken into custody the next day by Smyth County Sheriff’s Office deputies before being brought back to Wythe County.
King said law enforcement first got a call around 12:30 a.m. Thursday from a resident at 742 Cedar Springs Road who complained about receiving harassing phone calls.
The sheriff said the office also received word that a passing vehicle had thrown a pop bottle toward the residence.
According to the police report, a deputy stopped a black Cavalier with the trio who were later arrested, but initially let them go as there had been no report of an explosion or the unusual contents of the plastic bottle flung from the vehicle.
“It takes a while for it to blow up,“ King said regarding the toilet bowl cleaner/aluminum foil mix.
By the time the deputy arrived at the Cedar Springs Road residence, King said, the bottle had exploded, leading police to seek arrests.
King said the bottle actually missed the presumed target of 742 Cedar Springs Road and landed in a neighboring yard.
Despite the explosion, no one was injured, the sheriff reported.
King said Deskins has a family connection to the residents of 742 Cedar Springs Road, but he didn’t know the exact kinship ties.
After discovering the blown up plastic bottle, the deputy found Deskins early Thursday morning at 8186 W. Lee Highway, where King said she was staying with the Davises, and took her into custody. The Davises weren’t found until Friday in Smyth County.
All three defendants are scheduled to have hearings at 1 p.m. on Aug. 20 in Wythe County General District Court.

Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or .