Man arrested after son reportedly brings failed pipe bomb to Jenks High School
BY AMANDA BLAND World Staff Writer
Thursday, December 06, 2012
12/06/12 at 8:09 AM
MOUNDS - Federal and local authorities arrested a man in possession of items used to manufacture explosives and incendiary devices Tuesday after his son reportedly brought a failed pipe bomb to school, according to law enforcement records.
The Tulsa Police Department's Bomb Squad, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted Creek County sheriff's deputies in apprehending Kent Bartell, 46, of Mounds, police said.
Bartell is being held at the Creek County Jail on complaints of manufacturing or possessing an explosive device and child endangerment.
A search of his property northwest of Mounds in the area of U.S. 75 and West 191st Street South uncovered several explosive devices that had not yet been detonated in Bartell's barn, according to the arrest report.
Authorities found a Molotov cocktail, pipes, pipe caps with holes cut in them for fuses, black powder, fireworks and firework components, an exploded pipe bomb, bleach, fertilizer, and a gasoline and Styrofoam mixture similar to that used in a napalm bomb, Deputy Leslie Ruhman wrote.
Bomb Squad Sgt. Jacob Thompson said Tulsa bomb technicians had a limited role in the search but were on hand to deal with any active explosives.
"We were there in case they found any and to make sure nobody got hurt," he said.
He said relatively small amounts of explosive materials were found.
Tulsa police were contacted after rumors of a pipe bomb at Jenks High School landed Bartell's son in the assistant principal's office.
The younger Bartell later told deputies that "he attempted to detonate a pipe bomb (that) was constructed a couple of months ago." He told Ruhman that the device failed and that he brought it to school on Nov. 26, according to the report.
He also showed authorities pictures of multiple explosive devices and video footage of his father's explosives being detonated, Ruhman wrote.
Jenks Public Schools spokeswoman Bonnie Rogers said a teacher at the school received information about the bomb, which was relayed to administrators who conducted an investigation Monday.
An assistant principal and campus police "quickly realized that this was something that needed to be handed off to the authorities," Rogers said.
Campus police searched the school and did not find explosives, she said.
Kent Bartell practices alternative medicine at New Hope Health Clinic in Jenks and refers to himself as a doctor on his website. He is not licensed with the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, a database search reveals.
He was charged with a misdemeanor count of domestic assault and battery in 2010. The charge was later dismissed.
The Tulsa Police Department Bomb Squad is one of two bomb squads that serve eastern Oklahoma. There are seven statewide.
The TPD squad responds to about 95 calls a year, Thompson said.
Original Print Headline: Bomb report leads to arrest
Amanda Bland 918-581-8413
amanda.bland@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Kent Bartell: Police say they found explosives and materials to make homemade bombs at his residence
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