Negaunee man faces charges in Molotov cocktail case
Negaunee man faces charges in Molotov cocktail case
MARQUETTE — A 21-year-old Negaunee man is scheduled to be back in Marquette County district court later this month on four explosives-related charges stemming from incidents in Marquette during May.
Kyle Edward Martens faces a preliminary examination at 3:15 p.m. on July 24 in front of 96th District Court Judge Dennis Girard on the four felony counts, according to a court spokeswoman.
He remained lodged in the Marquette County Jail Wednesday afternoon, unable to post 10 percent of a total of $600,000 in bond on the charges.
Martens is accused of throwing two “Molotov cocktail” incendiary devices in Marquette — late on May 15 or early May 16 — into a boat at the Cinder Pond Marina at Mattson Lower Harbor Park. Then on May 16 into the Lambda Chi Alpha college fraternity house at 619 N. Fourth St., according to the Marquette City Police Department.
The charges Martens faces are two counts of explosives manufacture for possession of a Molotov cocktail/explosive or incendiary device causing property damage, one count of arson in a dwelling and one count of arson to personal property worth $20,000 or more. The first two charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, while the personal-property arson charge has a 10-year maximum.
Police say they are also investigating several other incidents similar to or in close physical proximity to these, including a Molotov cocktail thrown at the Negaunee City Police Department and spray painting of Marquette parks property.
More charges and more suspects may be involved, police said.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has also been involved in the investigation, though federal charges haven’t been formally filed in U.S. District Court in Marquette, a court spokeswoman said.
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