RUSSELL – A Russell man who took extreme measures to evict tenants from his home is now staying at the Hampden County House of Correction as he awaits trial on charges, which include attempted arson of an occupied dwelling.
The charges faced by Howard F. MacDonald Jr., 50, of 1418 Blandford Road, stem from an incident which occurred Dec. 12 when state troopers were called to the house after a tenant reported finding a makeshift bomb in the house.
State Trooper Ethan D. Hillman reports, in a document filed in support of an application for a criminal complaint, that a 911 caller reported at about 3 p.m. that a roommate had threatened herself and a second tenant with a bomb and was pouring gasoline inside the residence.
Hillman responded to the single family house and found that one of the three other responding troopers was already speaking with the suspect.
Hillman spoke with the female tenant who had called police and she told him that she did so because she heard another roommate downstairs yelling at their landlord who was breaking items in the kitchen and because she smelled a strong odor of gasoline.
Hillman reports the second female tenant told him that she went downstairs because she heard MacDonald yelling and immediately detected an odor of gasoline. She also said she saw what appeared to be a bomb on the steps.
The woman described the device as “a mixture of gunpowder and gasoline, with a toilet paper wick hanging out of it.”
The tenant said that she found MacDonald breaking dishes and a kitchen window and saw what appeared to be gasoline on the counter and floor which, as she watched, MacDonald ignited.
At that point, she said, she began yelling and her roommate called 911.
A third tenant said that he had come upstairs from his basement when he heard the altercation and, when he learned about the incendiary device, told MacDonald to take it outside which he did, placing the device on the porch.
Hillman reports the two female tenants said that MacDonald had threatened them with the makeshift bomb saying that if they did not leave the house he would “blow it up, with them all inside.”
All three of the tenants, Hillman reported, said that MacDonald had been drinking that day and said they knew that when he does drink he has a tendency to get “crazy.”
The trooper also reported that he also observed an odor of gasoline and saw a section of the kitchen counter which was darkened by what appeared to be soot from a recent fire.
When Russell firefighters arrived, the fire chief asked that the State Police bomb squad and arson investigators be summoned.
MacDonald told Hillman that he had evicted his three tenants but they had not moved out. He said that his intention in making the bomb was to force his tenants to vacate and admitted threatening to “blow the place up” because they would not leave.
He also admitted to Hillman that he had ignited a small amount of gasoline on the counter but said it was “no big deal” since he owned the house and “could do whatever he needed to” to get his tenants out.
Hillman reports that, while MacDonald was being booked at the Russell State Police barracks, he said that he “couldn’t wait to get out and go home, because you guys will be right back.”
He reports that, when MacDonald was asked to explain his statement, he said that he “would finish getting the people who got him arrested out of his house.”
An examination of the house revealed a black powder rifle, empty cartridge cases in a variety of calibers, bullets and two prescription bottles containing black powder. A check of MacDonald’s record showed that he has been issued neither a firearms identification card nor a license to carry a firearm.
MacDonald was charged with possession of an explosive device, assault in a domestic relationship, assault by means of a dangerous weapon, attempted arson of an occupied dwelling and unlawful possession of ammunition.
MacDonald was held at the barracks in lieu of $2,500 cash bail and arraigned the next day in Westfield District Court where he was held without right to bail pending a dangerousness hearing.
The court agreed to set bail, subject to stringent conditions, but MacDonald was on probation stemming from a 2011 case in the Westfield court and the probation department requested that he be held.
Bail was eventually reduced to $100, with several conditions, but he has been held pending resolution of his issues with the probation department.
He is scheduled next for a Jan. 25 pre-trial hearing in Westfield District Court.
