Trenton Man Sentenced for Making Bombs, Bomb Threat to Trenton High School

A 43-year-old Trenton man was sentenced to nine years in prison Friday for possessing explosives and making bombs, according to United States Attorney Barbara McQuade.

John Robert Kennedy was convicted of possession of a destructive device, felon in possession of a destructive device and manufacture of a destructive device after a three-week jury trial.

Kennedy also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of explosives and ammunition.

United States Judge John Corbett O'Meara sentenced Kennedy to 108 months in prison and ordered him to pay a $20,000 fine.

Evidence presented in the trial showed that on April 28, 2011 Kennedy telephoned a bomb threat to Trenton High School, while disguising his voice in a Middle Eastern accent. Kennedy threatened that four bombs would be detonated in the school within the hour, according to a release from the United States Attorney's Office.

The school was evacuated and searched. Trenton police and the Wayne County Airport Authority's Explosives Ordinance Disposal unit safely disintegrated a device found by a teacher in a parking lot at the school the same day.

Evidence also showed that Kennedy detonated a device in a parking lot at ACO Hardware Store in Trenton. Witnesses described an explosion with clouds of white smoke, according to the release.

Trenton Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives apprehended Kennedy on June 7, 2011. He has been in custody since his indicment in July 2011.

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