Tennessee: Police find 14 improvised explosive devices in home of man accused of threatening public officials
According to the Sheriff's Office, O'Neal attempted to detonate the devices while deputies were arresting him, which escalated the situation. Fortunately, none of the devices detonated.
A police car in a perimeter zone (File).
Police in Polk County, Tenn., discovered 14 improvised explosive devices at the residence of Kevin Wade O'Neal, a 54-year-old man accused of threatening to kill public officials and law enforcement officers.
The discovery came during the execution of an arrest warrant at his home in Old Fort, about 70 miles east of Chattanooga, on Friday, the Polk County Sheriff's Office reported.
What happened
Officers went to O'Neal's home, described as a ramshackle house in a wooded area, to arrest him for multiple outstanding warrants related to death threats against local authorities. After his arrest, officers noticed that something appeared to be “smoldering” in the bedroom where O'Neal was being held. Authorities identified the object as an improvised explosive device, leading to the immediate evacuation of the home.
The Chattanooga Police Department Bomb Squad and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were called to the scene. It was there, during the search, that the 14 fully manufactured explosive devices were found.
According to the Sheriff's Office, O'Neal attempted to detonate the devices while deputies were arresting him, which escalated the situation. Fortunately, none of the devices detonated.
O'Neal, who has a criminal record that includes a conviction for shoplifting in Texas in 1989 and drug-related offenses in Georgia, now faces multiple felony charges and is being held in the Polk County Jail.
The charges against Kevin Wade O'Neal
- Nine counts of attempted first-degree murder for the nine Polk County detectives and officers present during the arrest.
- Two additional counts of attempted first-degree murder against two other people who were at the residence at the time of the incident.
- Fourteen prohibited weapons charges, one for each of the 14 improvised explosive devices found.
- One count of possession of explosive components relating to the materials used to make the explosive devices.
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