Molotov Cocktails Thrown By Silver Spring Man Bring Prison Term

SILVER SPRING, MD — A Silver Spring man who had previously threatened to kill an Upper Marlboro resident will spend 12 years in prison for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the victim's residence.

U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel on Monday sentenced Damien Travis Boddy, 35, of Silver Spring, to 12 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of an unregistered firearm and transportation of explosive material with the intent to injure, kill or intimidate.

“Our public safety team effort was critical to the closure and conviction in this case. Our residents can rest safer today with the sentence handed down by Judge Hazel,” said Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Chief Marc S. Bashoor after the court hearing.

According to his plea agreement, Boddy drove to a gas station in Upper Marlboro on Oct. 19, 2014, and filled several empty beer bottles with gasoline. Boddy placed the bottles in his car and drove to a residence in Upper Marlboro. Using protective gloves and a lighter, Boddy set fire to at least two of the bottles filled with gasoline and threw the lit bottles at the residence. The lit bottles, which authorities said qualify as explosives, ignited a small fire that was confined to the exterior of the home's window and shrubbery.

Prince George’s County Fire Department investigators found remnants of one of the gas-filled beer bottles near the residence, gas residue on the window, and an intact gas-filled beer bottle on the sidewalk near the residence.

Boddy was found by Prince George's County Police in his vehicle nearby. A beer bottle filled with gasoline was reportedly found in the vehicle’s cup holder, along with a lighter, protective gloves and paperwork from the gas station where Boddy filled the beer bottles in the vehicle.

Prosecutors say Boddy knew the owner of the residence and in previous years had set fire to a car parked at the victim’s residence, and had contacted the victim’s employer and threatened to kill the victim.