Two men were arrested yesterday by state fire marshals in connection with the soda bottle bombs that damaged a KFC restaurant in Eldersburg on July 20, authorities said.
Bryan Patrick Kaylor, 19, of Woodbine and Dontea Francois, 20, of Baltimore, both employees of the KFC, were being held at the Carroll County Detention Center awaiting bail review hearings.
Both men are charged with two counts each of manufacturing and possessing destructive devices, said Faron Taylor, deputy state fire marshal.
The felony charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
The fire marshal's investigation revealed that both men were working at the restaurant when the incident occurred about 10 p.m. July 20, Taylor said.
One device was placed in a kitchen trash can and one outside the back of the building, Taylor said. The trash can explosion showered food products with chemical residue, causing about $2,000 in damages.
Taylor said the fire marshals are also investigating to determine whether any others were involved.
The fire marshal's office is also investigating an explosion in a mailbox in Finksburg that might have started a field fire.
Deputy State Fire Marshal Brian Quick said the latest incident was reported as a field fire in the 2600 block of Old Kays Mill Road about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
When firefighters arrived, they discovered that a mailbox was blown apart. Quick said he was unable to determine what had destroyed the mailbox. This was the second mailbox destroyed this week. On Sunday night, a mailbox in the Smallwood area was also destroyed by an explosion, officials said.
Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call the fire marshal's office at the arson hot line at 800-492-7529.