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May 28, 2009

Judge sentences Malakoff man to prison

Morman pled guilty to possession of an unlawfully made incendiary device last December, set to serve eight years

By Rich Flowers News Editor

A Malakoff man will serve time for possession of an unlawfully made incendiary device.

Charles Eric Morman, 21, was sentenced to serve 97 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis in Tyler on Wednesday. He was indicted on Sept. 9, 2008 on the charge and pled guilty before Davis last December.

Morman could have received up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for the offense.

Federal prosecutors said Morman, on April 1, 2008, threw two “Malatov-cocktail type bombs” at 46-year-old Gary Chancellor, of Athens. Chancellor was not seriously injured.

According to the Athens Police Department’s account of incident, dispatch received a call from a citizen who saw occupants of a white Chevrolet Lumina toss an explosive device near Brown Apartments on Stirman Street. The device struck the ground and burst into flames.

After the device was thrown, the Lumina reportedly continued down Stirman Street, but reappeared a short time later. That time the occupants threw a larger object from the car which also burst into flames.

Chancellor told the Athens Review that the driver turned off the Lumina’s lights and crept to within five feet of him before throwing the bottle. After the first bomb was thrown the victim reportedly ran toward his apartment while checking himself to make sure he wasn’t on fire. As he neared his apartment, the assailants drove past and tossed the larger bomb.

“They lit the thing and threw it point blank on me. It was frightening to see the grass, dirt and everything around you on fire,” Chancellor said.

Shortly thereafter, officers stopped a car matching the description of the fire-bombing Lumina. A search of the vehicle produced three bottles with "Kentucky Whiskey" labels, two of which were full of gasoline, a roll of toilet paper and a cigarette lighter. There were also small pieces of charred toilet paper on the front passenger floorboard. Officers then returned to the Brown Apartments where they recovered broken glass bottles with "Kentucky Whiskey" labels.

Morman admitted to the officers he was responsible for the incident, APD reports said. The other occupant of the vehicle was turned over to juvenile authorities.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble prosecuted the case which was being investigated by Athens Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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