Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | David Soares | | Defense(s): | Terence L. Kindlon |
Turtle exploded with pipe bomb
Knox, NY (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Mar 1, 2009
County: Albany
Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony Non-CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Jeffrey D. Robert
» Michael C. Robert
» Tyson J. Pincher
» James B. Pincher
» Seth J. Pincher
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Five men were in custody on Friday after police conducted a search of a house uncovering numerous explosives and the chemicals for making other incendiary devices.
Albany County Undersheriff Craig Apple said he and other investigators were searching the house of Jeffrey Robert, a suspect in an Internet scam case. They found a video, he said, in which Roberts and four other men tortured a snapping turtle, then attached a pipe bomb to its back and watched it explode.
"They all clearly reveal themselves in the video," Apple said, "and they're asking 'Do you think he knows he's about to die?' It's despicable."
Apple and other investigators were working late Friday night searching through another house on 864 Knox-Cave Road in Knox. They found the explosives along with many bottles of chloroform, an illegally owned handgun and a sawed-off shotgun.
The group had been experimenting with different explosives and downloaded reams of information about chemical bomb-making, Apple said.
"We don't know what their agenda was," he said. "They had a lot of chemicals, bottles of chloroform and other stuff you shouldn't have."
"It's very disturbing they had these types of explosives in the house," Apple said. "There were enough explosives in there to remove the house from the face of the Earth."
Apple said the men were being held but had not yet been charged. He said four of them were in their 20s and one was 17 years old.
Case UpdatesTwo sets of siblings who allegedly tortured a turtle in Knox -- killing the reptile in an explosion captured on videotape -- were arraigned Wednesday on felony weapon and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges in Albany County Court.
Jeffrey Robert, who turned 24 Wednesday, is charged in an eight-count indictment along with his brother, Michael Robert, 22, Tyson Pincher, 26, and his brother, Seth Pincher, 17, all of Knox.
Authorities say the defendants tortured the snapping turtle on Knox-Cave Road on March 1, then attached a pipe bomb to its back and watched the reptile explode.
A person with knowledge of the case said they nicknamed the animal "Victim." And police have earlier said the group asked at one point, "Do you think he knows he's about to die?"
The alleged abusers were rounded up in September as Albany County Sheriff's Department investigators searched the house of Jeffrey Robert, a suspect in an Internet scam case. The police found a videotape showing the turtle torture.
At the time, police said the suspects had been experimenting with different explosives and downloaded information about chemical bomb-making on the Internet.
As the defendants waited for their appearances before acting Supreme Court Justice Dan Lamont, the Roberts brothers sat near one another in the gallery -- at times flashing smiles. The pair face up to seven years in state prison on charges of third-degree weapon possession, conspiracy and torturing an animal.
The Pincher brothers face up to 14 years in prison because they allegedly possessed three more bombs that police found on Sept. 18.
All four pleaded not guilty.
Terence L. Kindlon, who represented the Pincher brothers at the arraignment, questioned whether the alleged explosives were bombs or firecrackers.
If the latter, he noted, it would be a fireworks misdemeanor case instead of a violent felony case that cannot be pleaded down without prison time.
"It is just really overreaching on the part of the D.A.'s office," said Kindlon, calling the indictment "overcharged, reckless and thoughtless," as well as "close to being insane."
In response, District Attorney David Soares issued a statement reading: "These young men are presumed innocent and Mr. Kindlon will have an opportunity to make his argument to a jury. As for this offices' decision to indict cases like this one? it's very simple: The idea of young men searching the Internet for instructions for building explosives and then constructing them is unsettling. The gall to then kill a small animal is cowardly and criminal."
The defendants are all free on bail. | Source: Times-Union - Dec 24, 2009
Update posted on Dec 24, 2009 - 12:25AM |
The Albany County Sheriff's Office reported Saturday they have arrested four men and a 17-year-old accused of using a pipe bomb to blow up a snapping turtle.
The group was taken into custody Friday after police searched homes at 851 and 864 Knox Cave Road in Knox and found explosives, chemicals and other bomb-making materials; a sawed-off shotgun; and an illegal handgun.
Police also found a video in which the suspects tortured a turtle, then attached a pipe bomb to its back and watched it explode.
Albany County Undersheriff Craig Apple on Friday told the Times Union that all five of the suspects "clearly reveal themselves in the video" and said one of the homes "contained enough explosives in there to remove the house from the face of the Earth."
The arrested men are Jeffrey D. Robert, 25, and Michael C. Robert, 22, both of 851 Knox Cave Road; and Tyson J. Pincher, 26; James B. Pincher, 21; and Seth J. Pincher, 17, of 864 Knox Cave Road.
They are charged with criminal possession of a weapon, conspiracy and torturing an animal. Each was arraigned in Knox Justice Court and sent to Albany County Correction Facility. Bail was set at between $25,000 and $50,000. | Source: Times-Inion - Sept 19, 2009
Update posted on Sep 20, 2009 - 6:57PM |
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