Four Teens Cited
In Rite Aid Explosion
By Sandy Vondrasek

Four Randolph men have been cited to court on felony charges in connection with the explosion of a homemade bomb February 5, inside the Randolph Rite Aid store.

No one was injured, Randolph police said this week, but the 7 p.m. explosion wrecked $1100 in merchandise and required extensive clean-up.

Benjamin Perry, 18, was cited on three felony charges: Unlawful mischief, possession of a destructive device, and "injuries (personal or property) caused by a destructive device."

Jonathan Mowery, Cody Haraden, and Carlton Hornsby, all 19, were cited as "accessory" to the same three felony charges that Perry was cited on.

All four were processed on their respective charges last week. Haraden is scheduled for a March 26 arraignment at Orange District Court; the other three have April 2 court dates.

Randolph police released some information on the incident, and the two-week investigation that followed it, this week. Police provided no information on a possible motive, although they did say two of the men worked at the store at the time of the incident.

RPD Officer James Beraldi, who conducted the investigation, was the officer on duty when the 6:57 p.m. explosion was reported, Tuesday, Feb. 5. The store was open for business at the time.

He arrived at the Rite Aid to find boxes of hair dye scattered on the floor, a blue liquid spattered everywhere in the aisle, and the "mangled" remains of a soda bottle. Capt. Michael Welch of the Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. also responded and assisted with the initial investigation.

Employees told police they heard a loud popping noise, followed by smoke and a "burning, strong scent" in the store.

Prior to the explosion, employees said, two young men had been in the store. Police gathered more information from witnesses, and evidence from a store videotape, and from the scene. Samples of the blue liquid were sent to the state police lab for analysis.

In his two-week investigation, Officer Beraldi repeatedly interviewed numerous individuals, initially getting flat denials about any involvement in the incident from suspects. Nor did the suspects obligingly stop by the station, at Beraldi’s invitation, so he had to locate them at work, the chief noted.

Beraldi gradually collected enough evidence to wrap up the case, and all four men were cited to court last week. His affidavit alleges that three men were present when the bomb was allegedly made in the apartment of one of the four suspects. Instructions for the device, Beraldi reported, came from the Internet.

Police allege that two of the men went to Rite Aid with the bomb, planted it, and then left prior to its detonating.

According to Chief Krakowiecki, one of the Rite Aid employees being charged quit his job after police confronted him with evidence; the other employee has been suspended by the pharmacy.

In addition to the loss of merchandise, Rite Aid had to spend several hundred dollars on the clean-up, the chief said.

The charges on which the men were cited carry stiff penalties.

Felony unlawful mischief has a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a $5000 fine. The maximum sentence for possession of a destructive device is 10 years and/or a $5000 fine, and for injuries by destructive device, it is up to 20 years and/or a $10,000 fine.

Penalties for being an accessory vary, depending on whether suspect was accessory before or after "the fact" of the crime. Accessory before carries the same penalties as the base crime. For accessory after the fact, for a felony, the maximum is up to seven years in prison, a $1000 fine, or both.

The charges filed by the county prosecutor against the suspects may vary from those alleged by police.