A 50-year-old Arkansas man, Randall Hamblen, is behind bars after allegedly setting off an explosion at his ex-wife’s home. The blast happened on May 20, just 12 days after their divorce was finalized, and followed months of severe threats.

Incident Details

According to a probable cause affidavit, Hamblen drove his gold 2003 Dodge 1500 pickup truck to a home on Tallentwood Place, a residence he used to share with his ex-wife. When another man answered the door, Hamblen reportedly told him, ‘Oh good, you’re here. Get the dogs out of the house.’ The man at the door walked out the back and headed around to the carport to meet Hamblen, at which point Hamblen ‘leaned over’ and ‘ignited something,’ and immediately after, ‘a boom went off.’

Authorities have not confirmed exactly what kind of device exploded, but the ensuing flames left both men with burn injuries. Detectives looking into Hamblen’s past found a history of alarming behavior directed at his ex-wife, including a court order banning him from contacting her or showing up at the Tallentwood Place property.

Threats and History

Court documents show the threats continued, with Hamblen texting his ex-wife that going through with a divorce would result in ‘mutually assured destruction.’ He also warned that he was ‘on the verge of earning the part of me I didn’t want to see’ if she refused to speak with him. Over the following months, authorities say he continued to threaten her, vowing to ‘take’ what they had ‘built’ and telling her they ‘will burn together.’

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.