A Pennsylvania man, 54-year-old James Sever, is accused of planting a bomb in his former landlord’s lawn mower. Allegedly, Sever planned the explosion as a response to his being evicted by his victim, David Martin.
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A probable cause affidavit shared online by Pennsylvania State Police public information officers detailed that the incident occurred on Sunday, July 20. At around 4:30 p.m., an explosion occurred after Martin started his lawn mower.
When authorities arrived at his Salem Township residence in Westmoreland County, Martin detailed that he was planning to do maintenance work at the time of the incident. The explosion, which he believed was a bomb going off, occurred after he attempted to move the machine forward.
Details shared by Martin shed some light on what might have occurred. It was revealed that a man named James Sever had been recently evicted from Martin’s property on June 3.
More than a week after the eviction, a state trooper responded to the location. On June 11, Sever had returned to the property and “made threatening statements” directed at Martin. Allegedly, referencing his recent eviction, Sever told Martin, “You’re going to end up getting yourself hurt over this.”
Five weeks later, the explosion occurred.
Explosive Device
Investigators surveyed the scene and found evidence that an improvised explosive device had been used. They found metal shrapnel, threaded pipe, zip ties, screws, and wire components, among other things.
A search warrant for Sever’s phone records placed him less than half a mile away from the property on July 19, as per the affidavit. Allegedly, he remained in the property for about 48 minutes. Tire tracks found in the area also appeared to match Sever’s Dodge Ram 1500 truck.
Then, authorities searched Sever’s vehicle and found matching zip ties to the ones found at the scene. Additionally, they found a red t-shirt and black/blue shorts, as per the affidavit.
A witness spoke with authorities and revealed that Sever had approached her on the day of the incident. The man appeared to be acting “nervous and erratic” and was wearing a red t-shirt and black/blue shorts, matching the ones found in the truck, as per the document.
Currently, James Sever is wanted by authorities and faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, weapons of mass destruction, risking catastrophe, possessing an instrument of crime, trespassing, and simple assault, as per the Westmore County District Attorney’s Office.