A North Carolina man drove to Putnam County, where he blew his hand off with a pipe bomb, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. The investigation has kept Putnam’s sheriff busy, including his time spent dealing with conspiracy theories.
The man is currently under the care of Atrium Health Navicent the Medical Center in Macon.
“I have a warrant, but don’t want to arrest him until the hospital releases him, so the people of Putnam County will not have to pay his hospital bill, which is not going to be cheap,” Sills said.
The sheriff identified the man as Peter Kim Tae Soo Theyson, 49, of Indian Trail, a town in the northwestern part of Union County, N.C.
“So, what brought this individual to Putnam County is still a mystery,” Sills said. “We can find no nexus between him and anybody in Putnam County.”
Around 4:40 p.m. Sunday, the sheriff’s office received a call from a woman who said she was traveling on Oconee Springs Road when a man came out of the woods, and attempted to wave her down. She said one of his hands was missing.
“Needless to say, she called 911,” Sills said. “The firemen got there, as did Cpl. Deputy Chris Harper. He (Theyson) didn’t blow off all of his hand; (the bone on the thumb side) is still present but the rest of it is gone.”
Theyson was on Oconee Springs Road just before Rockville Lane. His car was parked just beyond a powerline, and deputies reportedly found parts of the explosion approximately 40 yards away.
“Donovan found the actual pipe bomb itself,” Sills said. “Both caps were gone, but the pipe was still intact, which is indicative that the caps were not screwed on well.
My speculation is the pipe bomb sparked when he was putting on the cap.”
Sills obtained a search warrant for Theyson’s vehicle, in which he said he found “a couple pounds of smokeless gun powder and pyrodex (a powder used in muzzleload guns), a good bit of cannon fuse, and two PVC pipe bombs that were not loaded.”
The sheriff called in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
“I called them because I wanted to use their lab resources and expert testimony about the bomb,” Sills explained. “Plus, he traversed two states with it to get here, so I had to call them.
“Our evil Flock cameras revealed that he left North Carolina at 4 a.m. Sunday and arrived around here in Putnam County, first on Greensboro Road, then at 5-Points (the intersection of Sumter and Maple streets) in Eatonton, and headed toward Oconee Springs Road,” Sills said.
When he called Union County, N.C. authorities, Sills learned that Theyson was out on bond in North Carolina for a possession of weapon of mass destruction arrest last August.
“He had a pipe bomb on his person then at that arrest, as well as a sizable cache of bomb-making equipment. I’d still like to know why he came to Putnam County,” Sills said. “We tried to question him, but he had nothing to say and requested an attorney.”
When the news story appeared on social media, Sills said conspiracists claimed that Theyson was here to kill Putnam County Board of Commission Chairman candidate Steve Hersey. Sills said he received numerous phone calls from people, which tied up the first half of his already-busy day.
“I even received a call from the FBI informing me of this,” Sills said in an incredulous tone of voice. “The agent said that the FBI had been receiving calls from people telling them this and they wanted me to know.”
Putnam’s sheriff emphatically repudiated the idea, saying it was “ridiculous.” The investigation is ongoing, he said, and he intends to prosecute the pipe bomb case. As of The Messenger’s press time Tuesday, Sills said there were no updates on Theyson’s condition or status with the hospital.