By Cindy Clayton
The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An adult and a juvenile were charged in connection with two bottle bombs that exploded Saturday at Mount Trashmore, and investigators said Monday they found six other devices at the park.
Jacob Loughlin, 18, of Virginia Beach was charged with eight counts of manufacture, possession and use of an explosive device, according to a Fire Department news release. The juvenile, whose name was not released because of his age, faces the same charges.
Each count is a Class 3 felony, which carries a maximum penalty of five to 20 years in prison.
A tip Monday morning led investigators to the arrests, the release said.
Loughlin, of the 5000 block of Oak Spring Court, was being held in jail, and the youth was in the city’s juvenile detention center. Both were held without bond.
No injuries from the bottle bombs were reported, according to fire officials, but anyone who had been near one of the devices could have suffered chemical burns or been blinded, according to the release.
“One of the things we want to stress is how serious this is because the chemical makeup will cause permanent disability because of the maiming of hands and the burns to the skin,” said Battalion Chief Tim Riley, Fire Department spokesman.
On Saturday, firefighters and police were called to Mount Trashmore about 10:30 a.m. after one of the bottles blew up in a trash can.
It had been tossed or rolled into a crowd at the Diversity Octoberfest rally. Someone picked it up and threw it into a trash can, where it exploded.
A second bottle blew up near a playground. Some of the other six devices that were found had exploded, Riley said Monday.
Republican congressional candidate Scott Rigell, who was featured at the rally, had not yet arrived when the bottle exploded in the trash can .
Officials with Rigell’s campaign said they did not believe the incident was politically motivated.
Witnesses told investigators that two juvenile males on bikes were responsible for the bombs.
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