Police: Four Charged with Exploding Soda Bottle Bomb at Sykesville Restaurant

A 22-year-old male and three juveniles were charged in the throwing of a soda bottle bomb into the patio area of E.W. Beck's restaurant on June 12, according to police.

A joint investigation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Sykesville Police Department resulted in the charges.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on June 12, two diners were in the outdoor patio area of the E.W. Beck’s restaurant, 7565 Main Street in Sykesville, when a soda bottle bomb was thrown from a moving vehicle into the patio area, police said.

The device landed within a few feet of the patrons and exploded and according to police, no injuries or property damage was reported. The witnesses were able to describe the vehicle as a silver Ford Escape with at least three young males inside to arriving officers from the Sykesville Police Department, according to police.

Due to the nature of the incident, the Office of the State Fire Marshal was requested to the scene. 

Investigators found the vehicle described by witnesses and according to police, it was being driven by 22-year-old Kirby Allen Shifflett. Shifflett admitted to driving the vehicle when the soda bottle bomb was thrown at the restaurant, police said.

Shifflett was charged with manufacture, possession, distribution of a destructive device, two counts first degree assault, two counts second degree assault, two counts of reckless endangerment and three counts  of contributing to certain condition of a child. Shifflett was transported to the Carroll County Detention Center where he remains on a $50,000 bond, police said. 

On June 13, police located the three male juveniles, a 14 year-old and two fifteen year-olds who were questioned and admitted to their involvement in the incident on the previous day, police said.

The three juveniles were charged with manufacture, possession, distribution of a destructive device, two counts first degree assault, two counts second degree assault and two counts of reckless endangerment and were released to the custody of their parents pending actions by the Carroll County Department of Juvenile Services, police said. 

Such devices are referred to as, “Improvised Explosive Devices” and carry a penalty of 25 years imprisonment and/or $250,000 in fines upon conviction. The construction of these devices in this and similar incidents have been misrepresented as pranks, however the destructive effect and potential of serious bodily injury is extremely high, according to a news release.