Police Think Car Bombing May Be Bollixed Payback

Oakland County authorities are looking into leads suggesting a Saturday truck bombing may have been retaliation against a 25-year-old man who was caught looting mailboxes in his Springfield Township neighborhood last year.

If the target was s Gregory A. Turner, the plan to exact revenge went awry, The Detroit News reports. The bombed-out blue Chevrolet S-10 pickup resembled one owned by Turner, but he’s been in jail since July on identity theft charges.

Instead, the pickup parked in a driveway in the 8200 block of Tindall in Springfield Township belonged to a 28-year-old Holly Township man who’s dating one of Turner’s relatives.

“We don’t know if he (Turner) was the intended target or not,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told The Detroit News. “If he was, whoever did this got the wrong truck. It is similar but doesn’t belong to him, and he says he doesn’t know anything about it.”

Turner was arrested last spring after authorities found 56 pieces of mail belonging to neighborhood residents in his vehicle. He reportedly told police that he was broke and “looking for packages of value.” He reportedly claimed he planned to return the mail, but admitted to stealing reading glasses, a glucometer, diabetic supplies and other items from unlocked cars in the neighborhood.

The explosion rocked the neighborhood awake about 8:15 a.m. Saturday. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the explosion shattered the window of the home where the pickup was parked and scattered debris over the yard and driveway. The windshield of the truck was blown over the home and into the back yard of the residence.

The owner of the truck was at a loss to explain why anyone would want to blow up his vehicle.

The Michigan State Police bomb squad and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting in the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call (248) 858-4911.