In Onamia, nothing screams 'fun' like a bomb

Posted at 10:43 AM on March 21, 2012 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice

In stiff competition, today's "say, what?" news award goes to Onamia where James Richard Thoen, 23, of Onamia, has been charged with possession of bombs, bomb-making materials and a sawed-off shotgun, according to the Mille Lacs Messenger.

Acting on a tip, police found a sawed-off shotgun and "bomb-making materials including plastic and metal pipes, BBs, rubber balls, plastic balls, bullets, shotgun shells and shell components, gunpowder and other items."

He apparently was turned in by an acquaintance who couldn't take a little joke.

According to the complaint, the reporting party told Barnes that Thoen threw a bomb in her general direction while she was sitting in a lawn chair in her yard. She was uninjured, but the bomb went off and blew a leg off the lawn chair.

He could get 20 years in prison if he's ever found.

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Comments (4)

So comforting to know he's out there "flopping around"!

Posted by Bonnie | March 21, 2012 11:15 AM

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Another cool trend started in California.

Posted by Jim Shapiro | March 21, 2012 11:49 AM

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In my experience it's not a new trend and not just in California or Onamia.

A Jr, High friend of mine (around 1965-67) used to make pipe bombs when we were kids. He made his own black powder from materials he (or his parents ... his dad taught him how to make the stuff) got at a drugstore. I ran into him years later. His nickname is now "Lefty".

We caught one of my young fellow employees making a cannon out of scrap material right here where I work just a couple of years ago.

Darn kids and their explosives!

Posted by John P. | March 21, 2012 3:58 PM

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John P - Agreed. A friend ( now a prominent local attorney who will go unnamed) and I made them in jr. high as well. M-80s were readily available, and we got creative with the filling.

Never hurt anybody or private or taxpayers' property with them, and we have all of our appendages - although a couple of them don't work as well as they used to.

They made a lot of noise and holes and were a lot of fun. I guess we were darn kids with our explosives.

But anybody who's not a minor who makes bombs should start packing their bags for Guantanamo. :-)

Posted by Jim Shapiro | March 21, 2012 10:13 PM

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