Delmar man arrested for threatening people with hand grenade

DELMAR, Del. – A Delmar man is behind bars after police say he threatened people with a hand grenade.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, troopers responded to the Royal Farms at 30983 Sussex Highway in Laurel for reports of a man pacing in front of the store with a suspicious object in his pocket. Laurel Police officers found the suspect, identified as 20-year-old Brandon Thompson, at a business across the street from the Royal Farms. Troopers recovered a grenade and a knife from Thompson’s pockets.

Further investigation revealed that Thompson had been at Royal Farms with a group of friends several hours prior, at which time an employee reportedly heard Thompson threatening to blow himself and a woman in the group up. Employees were concerned for their safety when Thompson returned to the store and started pacing out front with the suspicious object in his pocket. It was determined that the woman was Thompson’s girlfriend and that Thompson had made several additional threats to blow up and stab his group of friends if they came looking for him.

Members of the Delaware State Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team responded and secured the grenade, which was discovered to be a training grenade that had been modified, similar to a pipe bomb.

Thompson was charged with possession of a destructive weapon, three counts of terroristic threatening, and disorderly conduct. He was held at SCI on a $9,100 cash bond.