Alleged downtown Asheville bomber has misdemeanors dropped; says was setting off fireworks
ASHEVILLE - Two misdemeanors have been dropped against a man accused of throwing homemade explosives ― devices he told the Citizen Times were fireworks being set off "in a safe and harmless manner."
The misdemeanor charges of cyberstalking and possessing a dangerous weapon at a demonstration were unrelated to the felonies Duncan Small is facing after police say he threw improvised explosives at downtown July 4 celebration in 2022.
At an Aug. 15 session of Buncombe County District Court Assistant District Attorney Blair Barker dropped the misdemeanors after Judge Edwin Clontz declined Barker's motion to continue the case. Barker said the officer needed as a witness was not present. The weapon charge was dated June 26, 2022. The cyberstalking charge was from this year.
Small was arrested in June 2022 and charged with bringing a gun to an Asheville protest against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. There was little information on the cyberstalking charge, though there were two Asheville Police Department cyberstalking complaints linked to Small in January and April.
At the July 4 celebration officers say Small, 31, and Chioke Auden Fugate, 24, lit improvised explosive devices "similar to pipe bombs" and threw them at what remained of the Vance Monument. Small has addresses listed as Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, and Leicester. Fugate is from Clyde.
No one was injured during the incident, but the APD bomb squad responded to Pack Square where people had gathered for the holiday.
Both Small and Fugate are charged in Superior Court with possession of a weapon of mass destruction and malicious use of explosives. Neither had a court date listed.
Small's attorney Doug Edwards declined to comment after the Aug. 15 District Court hearing. Small, though, through text messages told the Citizen Times that the charges against him were false.
"We were merely setting off fireworks, in a safe and harmless manner," he said. "Nothing was thrown."
According to Small, police said they had bodycam and drone footage of the incident but have not turned it over to his attorney despite discovery requests.
Small sent photos he said police had taken of the scene. They showed what appeared to be cardboard tubes.
In a 911 recording, a caller from that night described a "huge, enormous explosive" a man "got out of the back of his car and said he was going to blow up the monument."
Small noted how the dispatcher told the caller to go talk to a firefighter who was nearby. In comments to the Citizen Times Small questioned why if the situation was so dangerous the firefighter had not taken some action.
According to magistrates' orders filed by APD, the two possessed a "homemade incendiary device" of "cardboard tubes filled with black powder and covered by tape."
"The devices were designed in such a way that they appeared to be homemade explosives or bombs," the documents said.
A magistrate's order says that Fugate admitted to having homemade explosives "by making spontaneous utterances that he threw the devices at nearby individuals."
Police said they found zip-tie handcuffs and a two-way radio belonging to Small, and leather gloves and a gas mask belonging to Fugate. In Small’s vehicle, they found a ballistic vest, pistol and ammunition, and a flare gun and ammunition, according to a news release from the department.
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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 2 charges dropped for alleged Asheville bomber; says devices fireworks
