A local man was charged early Friday with shooting an explosive into a crowd of pedestrians on Broad Street in Augusta.
A second man – armed with a stolen gun – was accused minutes later of throwing a firework explosive at an officer, authorities said.
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Davon Reed, 25, allegedly threw an explosive device into a crowd of pedestrians at 12:53 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Broad and 10th streets, authorities said. There were about 20 people present when Reed shot the device into the crowd, a sheriff’s report says.
Deputy Nicholas Boyd saw the incident and tried to arrest the suspect. Reed fled and the officer twice failed to hit the man with a Taser, but the suspect tripped and fell to the ground and was arrested. He was charged with possession of an explosive device to kill or injure and obstruction.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Machai Smith was seen a block away throwing a firework explosive at an officer and running around 1:44 a.m. Friday. Another deputy saw him running and took him to the ground.
While searching the teen’s bag, officers found the teen with a Smith & Wesson firearm that had been reported stolen out of Columbia County. He was charged with possession of an explosive device to kill or injure and theft by receiving stolen property.
Both suspects remained Sunday inside the Charles B. Webster Detention Center. No injuries were reported.
