Suspect allegedly threatened girlfriend with unseen bomb

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By Dustin Lemmon | Tuesday, June 20, 2006 7:01 AM CDT | () comments

A Bettendorf man facing criminal charges accusing him of possessing a bomb was using it to intimidate his new girlfriend because she had threatened to leave him, according to court records.

John M. Spaulding, 41, of 4017 State St., is charged in Scott County District Court with possession of explosives, unauthorized possession of offensive weapons and receipt and possession of firearms as a felon.

According to the charges, the 20-year-old girlfriend had been dating Spaulding for three months and living with him for three weeks. Spaulding threatened to use the bomb if the woman discontinued the relationship, but she never saw the device, according to the court documents.

He remained in custody on $35,000 bond after making his first court appearance Monday morning. He is scheduled back in court July 13.

Spaulding was arrested Friday night by Rock Island police after officers received a tip from an anonymous caller that he was at a home at 2813 9th Ave. He had been a fugitive for about three days when he was arrested. Bettendorf Police Chief Phil Redington said Spaulding was transferred Saturday to the Scott County Jail from Rock Island County.

According to a search warrant filed last week in Scott County District Court, the 57-year-old mother of Spaulding’s girlfriend called police June 13 to tell them about a bomb at the home, saying it was in a locked safe.

The incident began as the Scott County Sheriff’s Department was preparing to serve legal papers to a resident of the house. After receiving the tip, the Quad-City Bomb Squad and Bettendorf police were called to assist them.

Police later found an explosive device, which was made with about a pound of black powder and fragmentation particles such as buckshot and shards of metal in a small safe inside the home. The bomb squad disarmed the device and dismantled it, keeping the pieces for evidence.

The bomb had the power and capability to kill and maim anyone within 50 feet, the charges against Spaulding state.

Redington said Spaulding was not arrested the day the bomb was discovered because police were still searching for the device at the time and had no charges to hold him on.

“You have to sort things out and make sure whoever is responsible is the one being arrested,” he added.

Spaulding also faces separate criminal charges stemming from a recent traffic stop in which he gave a Bettendorf police officer his brother’s name and age and squared off with the officer as though he intended to fight him, court records state. During that incident, police found brass knuckles and a knife in Spaulding’s vehicle, according to court documents. Spaulding faces charges of malicious prosecution and carrying weapons in connection with that incident.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com..