Babysitter Exploded Acid Bombs At Park, Deputies Say

Tampa, FL — A 30-year-old Tampa man faces a long list of charges after a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy heard an explosion at Monterey Lakeside Park in Logan Gate Monday.

According to the sheriff’s office, a deputy working off-duty in the Logan Gate neighborhood heard what sounded like an explosion around 11:15 a.m. When he investigated the park at 6602 Monterey Boulevard, he saw a man setting off chemical bombs, an email from the agency said. The bombs, deputies noted, contained acid.

The man, identified as Joshua Stephen Lapin-Bertone, also had a 10-year-old boy with him, the sheriff’s office said.

“The defendant was showing the boy how to set off the chemical bombs and had the juvenile participate in throwing them,” the agency wrote.

When Lapin-Bertone’s vehicle was searched, deputies found bomb-making chemicals, the email said. The sheriff’s office bomb team was called out to neutralize and secure the chemicals.

The boy, who is not being identified, was turned over to his mother. Deputies say Lapin-Bertone works as a babysitter through Care.com and has been watching the boy for about four years.

Lapin-Bertone was charged with four counts of making, placing, discharging a destructive device and four counts of child abuse endangerment. He was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail Monday and later released in lieu of $16,000 bond.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

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