An Alliance man was arrested late Tuesday night after police say he set off several homemade bombs while he was drunk.
According to a police report, officers were dispatched to a home on the 1000 block of Freedom Ave. after receiving a call regarding fireworks or explosives. The person who called police then showed officers a video that appeared to show 50-year-old Richard Bowman lighting off multiple homemade explosive devices on his porch while taunting the neighbors.
Officials claim the video showed Bowman spraying a mixture of oxygen and acetylene into plastic bags before lighting them on fire, causing them to explode and send burning pieced of plastic flying within a 10-15-foot radius. Bowman allegedly lit the bombs in the presence of children, and his yard even caught fire before being extinguished by his son.
Bowman at first denied lighting the bombs until police told him there was video of the incident. After being taken to the police station, he later admitted to his actions, apparently saying it was "the Fourth of July! So of course we need explosions!"
Authorities charged Bowman with two felonies and one misdemeanor and he is scheduled to appear in Alliance Municipal Court Friday. He was previously convicted of having weapons under disability in 2012.