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A Utah beauty queen has been arrested for hurling home-made bombs containing toxic toilet cleaner at houses in a south Salt Lake County community.
Kendra McKenzie Gill, who was crowned Miss Riverton in June and was set to compete in the Miss Utah pageant, was taken into custody with three friends - John Patrick Reagh, Shanna Marie Smith and Bryce Christopher Stone - on Saturday.
Police have accused the four 18-year-olds of making the devices - using water bottles filled with aluminum foil and toilet bowl cleaner - and ditching them at at least two homes in Riverton, including the residence of Stone's ex-girlfriend.
'They were throwing them at both property and people,' Unified Fire Authority Captain Clint Mecham told KUTV. 'This goes well beyond a teenage prank.'
Residents began calling authorities at around 10:50 p.m. on Friday after seeing the teens chucking the bombs from a vehicle and hearing loud explosions.
When investigators arrived on the scene they discovered four plastic water bottles with remnants of aluminum foil and a chemical substance, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
The water bottles had been detonated in a road and a driveway.
Witnesses who called the cops reported seeing a dark-colored, gray or black vehicle with a dent on the front cruising by the house and someone inside throwing four bombs, which caused the blasts.
Police then received reports of further explosions at a second home in the area, and witnesses there reported a similar car and its occupants ditching devices.
Witnesses said the car was similar to that driven by Stone, and the vehicle was later found in front of the teen's residence.
Stone claimed he and his friends had been 'pranking' with fireworks. He was arrested and allegedly implicated Gill, Smith and Reagh.
Investigators discovered remnants of a case of water bottles with labels and sizes matching the debris at the scenes of the explosions, according to the Tribune. A roll of aluminum foil and toilet bowl cleaner was also found in the vehicle.
All four of the teens, including the beauty queen, admitted to buying the bomb-making supplies at Walmart, and creating the devices before chucking them at the two Riverton addresses.
The explosions failed to cause damage at either home and no one was injured, police said.
But Mecham said things could have turned out far worse.
'They're very caustic, very nasty. So they can cause injury to somebody just if the chemicals get on somebody, much less the fragmentation of the shrapnel damage that can be caused,' he said. 'They can very easily cause serious harm or even death.'
He added to The Tribune that the case was being taken very seriously.
'Anytime you're dealing with explosives and incendiary devices, those are always felony charges,' Mecham said. 'The fact that there are multiple (detonations) of them, makes this extremely serious.'
The four remained in Salt Lake County jail on Sunday afternoon and bail hadn't been set. Each teen faces 10 counts of of setting off an incendiary device - a first degree felony.
Source: Mail Online
A Utah beauty queen has been arrested for hurling home-made bombs containing toxic toilet cleaner at houses in a south Salt Lake County community.
Kendra McKenzie Gill, who was crowned Miss Riverton in June and was set to compete in the Miss Utah pageant, was taken into custody with three friends - John Patrick Reagh, Shanna Marie Smith and Bryce Christopher Stone - on Saturday.
Police have accused the four 18-year-olds of making the devices - using water bottles filled with aluminum foil and toilet bowl cleaner - and ditching them at at least two homes in Riverton, including the residence of Stone's ex-girlfriend.
Disgraced: Kendra Gill, left with her mother and right in her mugshot, was arrested for throwing bombs at houses
Crowned: Gill, pictured, was crowned in June as Miss Riverton
'They were throwing them at both property and people,' Unified Fire Authority Captain Clint Mecham told KUTV. 'This goes well beyond a teenage prank.'
Residents began calling authorities at around 10:50 p.m. on Friday after seeing the teens chucking the bombs from a vehicle and hearing loud explosions.
When investigators arrived on the scene they discovered four plastic water bottles with remnants of aluminum foil and a chemical substance, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
The water bottles had been detonated in a road and a driveway.
Witnesses who called the cops reported seeing a dark-colored, gray or black vehicle with a dent on the front cruising by the house and someone inside throwing four bombs, which caused the blasts.
Scene: The teens were found to have thrown the bombs at two residences, including that pictured, in Riverton
Pals: Bryce Stone, left, and John Reagh were
also arrested and admitted to buying plastic bottles, aluminum foil and
household chemicals at a local store before building the bombs and
throwing them from their car
Police then received reports of further explosions at a second home in the area, and witnesses there reported a similar car and its occupants ditching devices.
Witnesses said the car was similar to that driven by Stone, and the vehicle was later found in front of the teen's residence.
Also caught: Shanna Smith, pictured, was also caught throwing the bombs
Stone claimed he and his friends had been 'pranking' with fireworks. He was arrested and allegedly implicated Gill, Smith and Reagh.
Investigators discovered remnants of a case of water bottles with labels and sizes matching the debris at the scenes of the explosions, according to the Tribune. A roll of aluminum foil and toilet bowl cleaner was also found in the vehicle.
All four of the teens, including the beauty queen, admitted to buying the bomb-making supplies at Walmart, and creating the devices before chucking them at the two Riverton addresses.
The explosions failed to cause damage at either home and no one was injured, police said.
But Mecham said things could have turned out far worse.
'They're very caustic, very nasty. So they can cause injury to somebody just if the chemicals get on somebody, much less the fragmentation of the shrapnel damage that can be caused,' he said. 'They can very easily cause serious harm or even death.'
He added to The Tribune that the case was being taken very seriously.
'Anytime you're dealing with explosives and incendiary devices, those are always felony charges,' Mecham said. 'The fact that there are multiple (detonations) of them, makes this extremely serious.'
The four remained in Salt Lake County jail on Sunday afternoon and bail hadn't been set. Each teen faces 10 counts of of setting off an incendiary device - a first degree felony.
Source: Mail Online
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