DATE: August 13, 2025
SUBJECT: Suspect Arrested for Setting Off Sparkler Bomb near Construction Site
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-NR-0813
CONTACT: Lt. Doug Daza
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Noah Robinson
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office has arrested an Evansville man on charges related to the detonation of an explosive device in close proximity to INDOT workers at a job site. The workers were on a residential street adjacent to the Lloyd Expressway on Evansville’s west side. Joshua Keith Messic was arrested for Possession/Detonating a Destructive Device as a Level 2 Felony, Possession of a Destructive Device as a Level 5 Felony, and Criminal Recklessness as a Level 6 Felony.
On August 12, deputies were called to North Elm Street where it dead-ends into the raised Lloyd Expressway. INDOT employees were engaged in construction work at that location when they heard and felt a loud explosion. One worker, just after hearing the explosion, felt an object she described as a fireball hit her and bounce away. Another worker witnessed her being struck. Two other workers were in a vehicle and said the car was shaken violently by the explosion. No one was injured in the blast.
Shortly after, a resident of the house directly north of the location, later identified as Messic, came out and spoke with the workers. He admitted to detonating the device, called a “sparkler bomb.” He was heard to say that he did so because he was “tired of the noise and wanted to make a point.” He also apologized to the workers, telling them he meant no harm and was trying to be funny.
Sparkler bombs are typically created by bundling together a large number of sparklers, often wrapped tightly with tape, and igniting them simultaneously, causing an explosion. They are considered extremely dangerous and can cause serious injury or even death. In addition to explosive power comparable to that of dynamite, sparkler bombs create intense heat up to 2,000 degrees and also pose a risk of injury from shrapnel from the materials used to create the bomb.
Deputies and later detectives investigated. Messic was interviewed and admitted to creating and detonating the device. Messic told detectives that he had made hundreds of these in the past and they had never exploded with the force this one did. He said he was upset at the noise from the construction and was only trying to scare the workers by setting it off. A neighbor told detectives that Messic was constantly blowing things up and that, at times, the explosions made the walls of his home shake.
Messic was arrested and taken to the Vanderburgh County Jail, where he will be held without bond until he makes a court appearance.
Arrested:
Joshua Keith Messic, 42, Evansville
Charges:
- Possession/Detonating a Destructive Device (Level 2 Felony)
- Possession of a Destructive Device (Level 5 Felony)
- Criminal Recklessness (Level 6 Felony)
Presumption of Innocence Notice: The fact that a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.