HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Anyone caught using or even owning an explosive device – homemade or otherwise – while committing a felony could face up to 10 years of extra prison time, should the latest legislative move against the use of deadly weapons succeed.
Sen. Frank Blas Jr., a former police officer, told The Guam Daily Post that Bill 153-37 was inspired by an incident in which someone threw a grenade at the Guam Police Department’s Dededo precinct around 30 years ago. Though the grenade didn’t go off, it left an impression.
The bill would raise the minimum prison sentence for anyone who has or uses an explosive device, including improvised explosives, while committing a felony, from the current five years to 10 years. It’s a “special weapons charge,” meaning the 10 years has to be served on top of any other prison time that results from a felony conviction.
It mirrors a recently passed bill by Sen. Tom Fisher, which raises the minimum sentence for anyone who commits a felony with a gun from five to 10 years. Fisher, now a co-sponsor on Bill 153, said it was a response to a recent flurry of gun crimes on the island.
While the gun crime bill is awaiting a signature from the governor, Blas said his legislation is meant to “close the gap” in the law.
“If you’re going to utilize an explosive in that manner, it’s just as bad as the firearm. OK? And we didn’t have any statute that basically enhances a penalty if you use an explosive,” he told the Post.
And like Sen. Fisher’s gun crime bill, the move against explosives is aimed at the drug trafficking problem on the island, Blas said, noting that weapons and trafficking often go together. The former police investigator said a grenade had been provided to him by an informant back in his “drug enforcement days.”
“There was information of a whole lot of explosive grenades that existed within the drug world,” Blas said. “And while we were successful in being able to take a bunch of it off the streets, God knows how much more (there was).”
Improvised explosive devices are also a bigger threat in the age of information technology, while the danger of a fentanyl epidemic and the black-market money that comes with it coming to Guam compound the problem, he added.
‘The fireworks conversation’
Blas said that anyone who would misuse a sparkler or a bottle rocket should also be put on notice, as lawmakers debate the legalization of consumer-grade fireworks for Guam.
Sen. Dwayne San Nicolas, whose election campaign focused on the issue, is a co-sponsor of the measure. Some officials with the Guam Fire Department have said that increased injuries and fires are inevitable once fireworks are legalized.
“The fireworks conversation is a separate conversation (by) itself,” Blas said.
“But if you decide you’re going to use that maliciously, just know that it falls into the area of an explosive or an improvised explosive device,” he said. “And there are legal implications.”
Frank Blas Jr.
