After the bomb was placed in a box at his front door, tied with a ribbon, the victim sustained injuries to his chest, legs and frontal area.

A man from Ohio pleaded guilty Wednesday to transporting explosives and intent to injure, as well as possession of an unregistered firearm/explosive apparatus. He allegedly left a bomb on the front steps of a man who was presently dating a woman who had rejected him.

In October 2020, Clayton Alexander McCoy, suspect in the case, "expressed romantic feelings for" a woman he had known for many years through a "live-action role-playing game/social club called Dagorhir. According to a United States Department of Justice release, she stated that she had told McCoy that she was in a relationship and did not share McCoys romantic feelings.

McCoy's guilty plea says that he plotted to kill the boyfriend of the woman and delivered a bomb to his house with the intention to kill him.

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According to the DoJ, McCoy first researched how to make a pipe-bomb before looking for explosive powder and bomb making materials. McCoy stuffed the bomb with shrapnel that he had made using an angle grinder saw to cut scrap metal. He also added BBs to the bomb "to increase the deadliness". To ensure that it would explode, he is also accused of creating a prototype in his yard.

He allegedly placed the homemade bomb in a gift box with a red ribbon and drove seven hours from Ohio to Maryland, where he left the bomb in his pickup truck. The man then left the box at the doorstep of the victim, where it was found by his grandfather. He left the victim with the bomb and the keys to the truck.

The victim found a box addressed towards him and texted his girlfriend asking if she had. He then took the box to his bedroom to open it in private. He opened the box and shrapnel hit him. According to the victim, he heard a "whistling sound or hissing sound" followed by an explosion.

The victim's grandmother said that she heard her grandson screaming and was in the kitchen when he heard the explosion. "You hear your grandson screaming, 'What's the f ---,'?' and then your house explodes. He screamed, and that was the last I heard.

"Have any of you ever been hit in your back head with a shovel and it hurls it forward so fast that your glasses fly off and it's like the pressure just -- boom! She added, "That's how I felt in the kitchen."

The victim spent the next few weeks in hospital and underwent several surgeries to remove shrapnel. The DoJ release states that "multiple pieces" of the shrapnel were still inside, but they didn't manage to get all of it. His home was damaged by almost $50k worth of damage and it wasn't declared "inhabitable until March 2021. During his recovery and repairs, he had to move with his grandparents.

Investigators were able execute a search warrant at McCoy's Ohio house and find explosive powder and other items that were used in the building of the bomb around the same time as the victim returned to his home. At first, he denied any involvement in the bombing. He said that he knew the victim but didn't know his address. McCoy also claimed that he was not aware of the identity of another member from the LARPing organization who "didn't like" the victim. According to the DoJ, he "accused that he made and shipped the bomb" when authorities provided proof that he had moved from Ohio to Maryland that day thanks to Verizon data and Google data.

McCoy will spend a maximum period of 20 years in federal jail for transporting explosives with the intent to injure, and a maximum term of 10 years for possessing an unregistered firearm/explosive instrument. McCoy has yet to be sentenced.

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Title: Man Who Sent Homemade Bomb to Romantic Rival In LARPing Love Triangle Pleads Guilty
Sourced From: toofab.com/2022/10/13/clayton-alexander-mccoy-bomb-love-triangle/
Published Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 19:17:19 +0000

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