Bomb prank in Baytown lands two men in jail

BAYTOWN, TX She says her son and his friend made a stupid mistake, but they had no malicious intent. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

The incident happened on Thyme and E. Wallisville near Baytown in east Harris County.

The mother told us she just can't understand why her son and his two friends would ever be involved in making acid bombs, but she says she's heartbroken over what she's calling a silly prank that gave her neighbors a huge scare and landed her son in jail.

"It was something really stupid on their part and now they are going to have to pay the consequences," the mother said, starting to cry.

She asked us not to show her face on camera, but says she and her husband were sleep when her 19-year-old son and his two friends mixed several cleaning fluids and made three acid bombs. The three young men eventually took the homemade explosives outside.

"It sounded like maybe two or three gunshots," said neighbor Athelga Ensley.

"They need to go for the parents, too," said neighbor Ronald Adams. "Honestly, if they're young enough, they should go check the parents out and see why the parents didn't keep a closer eye on them."

Debris from the bombs landed in her front yard. Baytown Police Officer Rick Ibarra says his wife also heard the explosives, but then she saw something tossed into her yard from her neighbor and close friends home next door.

"She kind of looked in the backyard and she saw the boys throw something in the backyard," said Officer Ibarra.

When Officer Ibarra went outside he found a homemade acid bomb still intact. He immediately called 911. The bomb squad came out to disarm the explosives and all three men were arrested, including the Ibarra's 19-year-old neighbor and close family friend.

"For whatever reason, they felt that this was a good prank to pull on their neighbor and it just kind of back-fired on them," Officer Ibarra said.

The 19 year old's mother says she is heartbroken about the whole incident and hopes the prank won't ruin a friendship

"He's like my brother. She's like my sister. We are like family and what the outcome is going to be, I don't know," said the mother.

Officer Ibarra says he doesn't have any hard feelings and he's moving on. He added while he doesn't feel the young men should face harsh punishment, he said they should take responsibility for their actions.

The two men are still in custody and the Harris County Sheriff's Office says they are waiting to speak with the third man.

All three men will be charged with a third-degree felony involving an explosive weapon.