A Fairmont man is accused of setting fireworks off in his neighbor’s bushes, mocking police and a cancer stricken man.
Twenty four year old Hunter James Cox was charged last week with felony counts of attempting to commit arson and terroristic threats. He also faces a multitude of other charges, including harassment, disorderly conduct, public nuisance and unlawful deposit of garbage.
A criminal complaint says two of Cox’s neighbors on North Elm St called police after he began setting off fireworks in one of the neighbor’s bushes.
Police arrived to find Cox sitting in the backyard of the home. When police asked Cox if he had shot off fireworks, he responded with a string of abusive language, according to the complaint.
As police approached Cox’s neighbor, Officers noticed a number of spent bottle rockets, which require a permit, in the neighbor’s yard. More were collected the next morning. Police say it appeared bottle rockets had been shot directly at the fence and black powder marks were visible on the flooring of an enclosed area and on the garage siding.
Police collected 39 used bottle rockets and ten unused pieces.
Investigators followed up with the neighbor the next day, who said he had gone out to water his flowers when Cox came outside and began calling him vulgar names and told him he would die soon. The neighbor told police he suffers from cancer and he is worried that if he dies his wife will have to deal with Cox.