Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Missouri man arrested after police said they found an improvised explosive device in his vehicle has previous convictions for drug possession and domestic assault.
Jason T. Kumnick, 42, of Springfield, was arrested Tuesday after police stopped him for a traffic violation and found the explosive device in his car. The probable cause statement that the Springfield fire department filed in the case said the explosive device included a “containment vessel, an explosive charge,” a fuse and a trigger, as well as shrapnel in the form of coins capable of “causing severe injury or death.”
Kumnick is charged with unlawful possession, transport, manufacture, repair or sale of an illegal weapon and was being held Thursday in the Greene County jail on $75,000 bond. Kumnick’s lawyer, Mike Lutke didn’t return calls seeking comment Thursday.
Fire and police representatives said they couldn’t comment on Kumnick’s possible intentions and the probable cause statement doesn’t address that question.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, however, says on its website that illegal explosive devices “are often manufactured and used during the fireworks season.”
“The explosive compositions in these devices are typically extremely sensitive to heat, shock, electrostatic discharge, and friction and may initiate unexpectedly causing serious injury or death,” the agency says. “The risks associated with these devices are further compounded because the persons manufacturing, transporting and using these devices often do not have the knowledge, skills, and experience required for such activities.”
Court records show that Kumnick was charged earlier this year with drug possession and unlawful possession of a firearm, and in 2007 was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and domestic assault.
In 2013, when he was wearing a court-ordered surveillance device he was accused of assaulting another man with a baseball bat, according to The Springfield News-Leader. Prosecutors asked for $75,000 bond then, saying Kumnick won’t follow the law “even when being intensely supervised.”
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