‘Ruining His Life Over a Girl He Met Five Days Ago’: Michigan Teen Blows Up Home of Girl Who Resisted His Advances, to Be Tried as Adult
Seven people, including three children, are lucky to be alive after a teen boy broke into their suburban Michigan home last week and discharged an explosive device.
Police say the alleged culprit, 17-year-old Jonathan Michael Brady, acted out after a female cousin who lived in the home refused to go out with him earlier that night.
“This is a kid ruining his life over a girl he met five days ago,” said Delvon Lee, the patriarch of the home in Mount Clemens, located about 30 minutes outside of Detroit.
The incident occurred around 3 a.m. on April 10. Lee was at home cradling his 9-month-old son when he heard “a big old boom.”
“It sounded literally like someone threw an M-80 in there,” he continued. “Just — it blew up. When I went downstairs, first it was like a little fire. It wasn’t nothing big.”
Lee, his son, his son’s mother and grandmother, along with a 2-month-old, a cousin and her 9-month-old child, were all inside the home at the time.
The explosive landed just outside the room where the babies were sleeping, Lee said.
“My children were so terrified they thought someone was shooting and breaking in the house,” he said. They ran into the basement and hid with the infants. “Luckily, I made it downstairs in time to let them know it was a fire.”
The fire quickly gained strength, eventually engulfing the residence.
“My main concern was making sure my son was good and everybody was out the house,” Lee said.
Everyone managed to escape unharmed, hopping over a back fence to safety.
“You just see the whole front of this just burst into flames,” Lee said. “It was crazy.”
Arson investigators quickly determined the fire was set intentionally. Five days later, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office announced it had taken Brady, accused of breaking into the home and lighting an explosive, into custody.
He remains at the Juvenile Justice Center, though prosecutors have decided to charge him as an adult.
Brady faces one count each of home invasion, arson, placing explosives near a property, and possession of bombs with unlawful intent. Each charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
He was arraigned as an adult on April 17 and is being held on $500,000 bond, the Detroit News reported.
“I did not reach the decision to charge Mr. Brady as an adult lightly,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement. “The gravity of this crime plus the need to seek justice for the victims and protect the public required this solemn action.”
“When I served in the Michigan Senate, I authored and passed the legislation that ended the prosecutorial practice of automatically charging 17-year-olds as adults to provide more discretion and fairness in the justice system,” Lucido added. “I believe in measured justice and giving second chances to young people. But, in this case, Mr. Brady’s alleged grievous conduct requires me to charge him as an adult.”
The Lees rented the home but lost most of their belongings to the fire. An online fundraiser has been created to assist the family.