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Police say discovery of cut PVC pipes could lead to new charges. Case likely to go to grand jury
Published on Thursday, Apr 24, 2008
By Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal staff writer
MACEDONIA: A 35-year-old man who is accused of making the fireworks that exploded and forced the evacuation of nearby homes on Tuesday was arraigned Wednesday in Cuyahoga Falls Municipal Court.
Jason Peltz pleaded not guilty to illegally manufacturing or processing explosives, a felony.
Peltz appeared in court via video hookup from the Macedonia Jail, where he is being held.
Magistrate John Clark set bond at $250,000.
A preliminary hearing for Peltz is set for 3 p.m. April 30 before Judge Lisa Coates.
Macedonia Police Sgt. Ken Turley said the discovery of cut-up PVC could possibly heighten the charges.
''The fact that he had that in his house really is no different than any other citizen having PVC piping in their house or garage,'' Turley said. ''But when you take everything into consideration with all of the items that he had stored, it creates a completely different situation.
''The guys on the bomb squad said that this (PVC sections) is nothing more than a pipe bomb. The explosion would be more intense in the plastic than in cardboard, and when it exploded, the hard plastic would shred and act as a projectile.''
Authorities estimated there were more than 13,000 cardboard casings for M-100s in the basement of the house. It was not disclosed how many PVC pipe sections, which were cut to the same size as the cardboard casings for M-100s, were discovered.
''We will present this to the grand jury as well when we get everything together,'' Turley said.
Police said Peltz used a mixer in the backyard of the house at 620 Harper Lane to put the chemicals together. They said an extension cord was strung about 100 feet into the house so that he could operate the mixer from inside the house.
Peltz was inside the house at the time of the explosion and was not hurt, according to authorities.
''He had been doing this for a long time,'' Macedonia Detective Richard Rizzo said, ''and he just flew under the radar until the explosion.''
Rizzo said that about 30 pounds of flash powder and other explosive compounds were removed from the house Tuesday afternoon by explosives experts from the Summit County Sheriff's Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Lt. Bruce Kovack, commander of the Summit County sheriff's bomb squad, said that the leftover explosives were taken to the former Boston Hills Golf Course on Olde Eight Road and detonated about 8 p.m. Tuesday.
''We were looking for an area that could handle what we were going to do,'' Kovack said. ''The old golf course was set up through the Macedonia Police Department and Boston Heights officials.
''We look for unpopulated areas that are far enough away from the blast site to keep people safe.''
Mary Griffiths, who lives in a house on nine acres across from the former golf course, was upset that surrounding residents weren't alerted.
''I was in shock because I never had heard anything that loud and had no idea it was going to happen,'' said Griffiths, who has lived in Boston Heights for 68 years. ''I thought a car or a plane had hit my house.
''I would think that the responsible and courteous thing to do would be to tell people in the area that it was going to happen. But officials I talked to said they didn't have time.''
Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
By Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal staff writer
Get the full article here.
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