Phoenixville Patch: Suspect Arrested in 'Pub Crawl' Explosion

Police have arrested a man suspected of setting off an explosion in the bathroom of Molly Maguire's Pub in Phoenixville March 12, during a St. Patrick's Day pub crawl.

Douglas Ferrin, a 51-year-old Phoenixville resident, was charged with two felonies, risking a catastrophe and arson. Phoenixville Police Chief William Mossman said the explosion could have injured hundreds, and the fact that no one was hurt is "lucky."

The break in the case came when an officer interviewing witnesses at the pub recognized a man who had also been at the scene of an earlier explosion behind the nearby Mainstay Inn. When police searched Ferrin's room at the inn, they found extensive bombmaking materials, and evacuated the area.

Ferrin was found at Valley Forge Medical Center and Hospital, a substance abuse treatment facility.

Read the by Phoenixville Patch editor Lynn Jusinski.