An Oxford teen guilty of multiple break-ins and arson is now facing charges related to the arsenal of bombs he’s accused of making in his parents? basement on Pontiac Street.
Joel Mason Thomas, 16, is charged with three felony counts ? possession or manufacture of explosives or incendiary device with malicious intent, possession of bombs with unlawful intent and possession of a Molotov cocktail.
A pre-trial hearing is set for Thursday, Sept. 14 before Judge Martha Anderson in Oakland County Circuit Court’s Family Division.
Back in May, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department confiscated numerous homemade weapons and explosive devices from Thomas? home in Oxford Village. Everything was sent to the Michigan State Police crime lab for testing.
Previous court testimony indicated Thomas admitted to a psychologist he had made gunpowder, smoke bombs, napalm and shotgun shell bombs, had the knowledge and ingredients to make mustard gas, had canisters capable of releasing chlorine gas and was building a shotgun.
Despite all this, the psychologist noted that ‘nowhere along the way did (Thomas) indicate he wanted to hurt people? with these weapons.
If convicted in adult court, these new charges could have meant up to 15 years in prison.
However, the charges against Thomas will remain in juvenile court, according to Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Keri Middleditch, where he was sentenced last week for the three break-ins and arson he admitted responsibility for earlier this month.
Accepting responsibility for a criminal charge in juvenile court is the same as pleading guilty in adult court.
Thomas broke into the Oxford Public Library in April, then burglarized the Oxford school district’s maintenance garage on Pontiac St. in May. He broke into the garage twice, the second time setting a fire which caused more than $212,000 in damage.
Prosecutors asked to have the arson charge waived to adult court, but Judge Anderson denied the request Aug. 3, keeping Thomas in juvenile court.
For those crimes, Oakland Circuit Judge Martha Anderson ordered Thomas be locked up at Children’s Village, a secure juvenile detention facility in Pontiac, and participate in a treatment program there.
‘The soonest he would be out is a year ? that’s if he works the program perfectly with no setbacks, which doesn’t happen all the time,? said Middleditch, noting if reviews show he’s not making progress, Thomas could be there longer than a year.
Thomas could be under the court’s jurisdiction until he’s 19 or 21, if prosecutors seek to extend the time.
Along with various forms of therapy designed to address his particular psychological issues, Thomas will continue his high school education at Children’s Village.
At his sentencing Aug. 24, Middleditch said Thomas? attorney read a statement the teen wrote apologizing for his crimes and expressing remorse for his actions.
‘I hope that’s true,? Middleditch said.
Prosecutors will not seek to waive any of the new charges to adult court ‘given the fact the court denied the last motion and was largely aware of most of the facts in this case,? according to Middleditch.
‘The court had basically already made the decision to keep him in juvenile,? she said.
While these new charges would likely not change the outcome of his original juvenile sentence, Middleditch said they would allow his treatment at Children’s Village to be more complete.
If Thomas is convicted, records and information pertaining to the new charges can be released to Children’s Village to ‘give them a more detailed, more accurate picture of what was going on so that they can better handle it.?
‘This way we can address these sorts of issues in his therapy,? she said.
These new charges could also affect Thomas should be ever commit crimes later in life.
‘If he ever committed a felony as an adult, this would be used against him,? said Middleditch. ‘It would make his sentence more severe should he be charged and convicted of a crime later as an adult.?