SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) — A South Carolina man was arrested Sunday for allegedly throwing a pipe bomb and putting a deputy in a headlock after punching a hole in his neighbor’s wall.
According to the Summerville Police Department, officers were called to a home on West Doty Avenue in reference to a disturbance. A person told police that a neighbor — identified as John Braswell — smashed through the wall to their adjoining trailer.
Officers tried to talk to Braswell, but he refused. An incident report states that Braswell said he had “diplomatic immunity” and that he was not going to talk with law enforcement.
Braswell had an active warrant out of Dorchester County for obstructing a court order, so police asked the sheriff’s office deputies to respond.
Deputies entered Braswell’s trailer through the unlocked front door and tried to talk to Braswell, who remained in a bedroom.
According to the report, Braswell “became irate and appeared to throw a large object at the bedroom door.” When deputies entered the bedroom, a police officer with Marine Corps experience noticed what appeared to be a pipe bomb sitting next to the bedroom door. Braswell was also holding a lighter when deputies entered the room.
Deputies attempted to take Braswell into custody, but he resisted and put one of the deputies in a headlock. SPD officers and DCSO deputies were able to restrain Braswell and take him into custody.
Police said that a second device “which appeared to be a homemade firearm” was found in the kitchen.
The Charleston County bomb squad was called in to dismantle the potential pipe bomb and nearby homes were evacuated.
Braswell was taken to the Dorchester County Detention Center and charged with possessing an article designed to cause damage by fire.
