Suspicious remnants explained

What started out as a “harmless” prank, as Vice President of Student Development Mark Fox called it, ended with $50 fines for freshmen Curtis Teel, Jay Bernhardt, Michael Bartlett and junior Christian Thompson.

Teel said a so-called pressure bomb found near the post office, reported by The Stampede on Feb. 10, was set off in the drainage pipe that runs from Steve Lacy Fieldhouse to Buffalo Creek. When Teel and Bartlett retrieved the device to inspect the remains, they saw a security car, dropped the remains at the post office and ran.

Postal worker Roger Armstrong called the Elizabethton police after the remains were discovered, but no police report was filed.

“The cops didn’t think it was a big deal,” Teel said.

Teel said he and Bernhardt learned from other students how to create the explosive devices known as pressure bombs and began making their own.

The four students set off several devices at different locations starting with the drain and making their way around campus, Bartlett said.

“I’m kind of surprised security didn’t pick up on it,” Teel said. “There was definitely a pattern.”

They set off six to 10 devices in the four-day span, including one in the back of a security truck.

Before setting off the devices, the students researched the components and tested the reaction to be sure the reaction was not dangerous. They did not realize it was a bomb and instead called it by the main components, “aluminum foil and Drano,” Bartlett said.

“We thought of it as a science experiment,” Bartlett said. “To us, it was just a loud noise.”

Around the same time these pressure bombs were set off at Milligan, a group from ETSU was setting off pipe bombs in Johnson City. The situation became worse when the police tried to connect this group of Milligan students with the group of ETSU students.

The students believe a resident director saw them out late at night and reported them to Fox.

Thompson, who was present only for the last night’s pranks, was named with the other students, and Fox initially dealt with him on behalf of the group, Thompson said.
“The first time I went to meet with him, I let him do all the talking,” Thompson said. “Then I pretended like the meeting never happened, hoping it would go away.”

But the situation only got worse. Thompson was called in again, and this time was told an Elizabethton detective and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were involved, he said.

“Since Sept. 11, it’s a completely different world, which is understandable,” Teel said. “We just didn’t think about it.”

When they met with Fox, Teel read Bible verses from James 3:18 and 4:17, explaining the lack of peace the students had since the events began.

Since this was the first offense for the four students, Fox fined them each $50. Their confession cleared them of the ETSU pipe-bomb investigation and the case was closed.

The students said the “more than fair” way Fox handled the situation caused them to have a great respect for him.

“I could tell that he cared about what happened to us and wanted the best outcome for us,” Thompson said.

“We were just a bunch of guys out to hear a loud noise,” Bartlett said.

They videotaped most pranks and plan to create a Web site with the footage.

Jay Bernhardt declined to comment.