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Homemade Bomb And Lover's Spat Don't Mix Well

But The Beaver Dam Is OK

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. 

CNN Law posted a story about a 45-year old North Carolina man who had two problems:  an ex-girlfriend and a beaver dam.  Sure, some jokesters out there have already picked up on the pun, and certainly some are busily chuckling under their breath.  But believe me when I tell you it gets better.

Much better.

Our hero, Otis Cecil Wilkins, wanted to get rid of a beaver dam.  At least that was his implausible excuse, according to his public defender.  Yep, you guessed it; He's a defendant in a criminal matter.  Get ready for the facts:  Otis Cecil had threatened his ex-girlfriend, and as she drove her car into her yard, Otis Cecil tossed a homemade bomb at her car.

Did I also mention that Otis Cecil smokes? 

Unfortunately for our hero, some ash from his cigarette fell onto the fuse, which promptly started to burn.  I'm guessing here that the early fuse wasn't part of Otis Cecil's original plan.  When he tossed the homemade bomb, it immediately exploded into a fireball.

This part is where it gets better.

Otis Cecil must have been so surprised by all the commotion that after he threw the homemade bomb, he forgot to jump out of the way.  The homemade-bomb-turned-fireball rolled back toward him, which next caught his shorts on fire.

Otis Cecil, who according to CNN, "... ain't no terrorist.  It was just a little bit of black powder.  It was just a little boom thing."  This startling denial came from Otis Cecil, as recorded in a law enforcement report filed last year at the time of the incident.  He spent three weeks in the burn unit recovering.

Perhaps fortunately for the prosecutor, the ex-girlfriend became uncooperative.  I say fortunately because in the trial, I don't think the prosecutor could have kept a straight face while trying to present these facts to the jury.  In a plea bargain entered last week because of this uncooperative witness, Otis Cecil plead guilty to three counts of assault, and agreed to a 10-month sentence.

Reportedly, the beaver dam is still intact.