Two Georgia men have been federally indicted in connection with a "sinister" plot they allegedly hatched last year to release a python to devour the daughter of one of their ex's, prosecutors announced.
Stephen Glosser, 37, and Caleb Kinsey, 34, of Richmond Hill, were arrested in February 2023 on charges of setting off a homemade bomb at the home of a woman with whom one of them had a previous relationship.
On Thursday, they were indicted on multiple federal charges related to the bombing and their alleged plot — which included mailing dog feces to the ex's home, releasing a snake in her residence, and scalping her, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Georgia announced.
They had plotted to acquire and release “a large python into the victim’s home to eat the victim’s daughter,” the release said.
The men face charges that include stalking, conspiracy to use an explosive to commit a felony, use of an explosive to commit another felony offense, and possession of an unregistered device. Kinsey was further charged with false statement during the purchase of a firearm and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.
The men had the victim under surveillance from December 2022 to January 2023 “with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate,” prosecutors said in a news release.
They conspired to shoot arrows into the victim’s front door, mail dog feces or dead rats to the victim’s home, scalp her and blow up her home.
Glosser located the victim’s home using internet searches and mapped out a path to her residence, prosecutors said. Kinsey then allegedly acquired and built an explosive device at Glosser’s home using Tannerite, which he purportedly purchased online.
Then the two used it to blow up the victim’s home on Jan. 13, 2023, the prosecutors said.
On that day, Bryan County emergency services responded to a report of an explosion at a residential structure on Demeries Lake Court in Richmond Hill at 5 a.m., Georgia’s Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire said in a release.
A multi-agency investigation found the cause of the explosion was an “IED comprised of a binary explosive compound.”
No one was injured in the explosion, WTOC of Savannah reported at the time.
The agency announced Glosser and Kinsey were arrested in connection with the explosion. Kinsey had fled the state and was arrested in Louisiana, and Glosser was arrested locally.
Bryan County Sheriff Mark Crowe previously described the attack as "sinister."
He told WJCL-TV of Savannah that a woman and child had moved into the residence the day before the explosion — and one of the suspects had a prior relationship with the woman.
Glosser and Kinsey are in custody awaiting further court proceedings. The docket for the federal case did not list lawyers for the men.
Prosecutors said that, if convicted, the conspiracy charge carries a statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and the charge of using an explosive to commit a felony carries a penalty of an additional 10 years. The release noted, given these are federal charges, the men won't be eligible for parole.
