BELFAST, Maine — A Troy man who spent a short time in jail two years ago for kicking one of his children and using a dog’s shock collar to punish the same child and his older sister is now accused of making improvised explosive devices and setting them off around a younger child.
James Kuhn, 30, faces charges of criminal use of explosives, reckless conduct and endangering the welfare of a child, according to documents filed Friday in Waldo County District Court.
The Maine fire marshal’s office arrested Kuhn Wednesday after a two-week investigation.
In mid-November, Investigator Stewart Jacobs of the fire marshal’s office was assigned to look into Kuhn after a Department of Health and Human Services employee reported that a third party told DHHS that Kuhn built IEDs and blew them up near his minor son over the summer.
At one point, the tipster claimed, Kuhn’s 7 year-old son had visible injuries and said he “had been hit with sticks falling out of the trees from the black powder that went poof/boom,” according to documents filed in Waldo County District Court Friday.
Jacobs interviewed several people, including the child, who allegedly told him his father made explosives using empty plastic Fireball whisky bottles, black powder and fuses. He then allegedly used the devices to blow up stumps, destroy plants that weren’t producing, or “get” raccoons and squirrels. The explosions “literally made the ground shake,” the boy reportedly told the investigator.
The boy reportedly said Kuhn often drank the whisky before using the bottle as an explosive, and that he kept the ingredients for making the IEDs in the garage.
Jacobs obtained a search warrant and searched the garage along with other investigators on Wednesday. They allegedly discovered the ingredients as described.
Soon after, investigators interviewed Kuhn at work, and later arrested him the same day. Jacobs said the investigation is ongoing.
Kuhn made his initial court appearance on Friday, after which he was transferred from Waldo County Jail to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, where he was to remain Friday night on a probation hold.
In March 2014, another one of Kuhn’s sons, who was 7 years old at the time, came to Morse Elementary School in tears one morning, triggering his teachers to ask questions that ultimately led to police intervention and caused the school to be placed temporarily on lockdown so that the father could not take the boy home.
The boy told officers that his father had kicked him and punished him by whipping him with towels, dragging him by the hair and by using a dog’s shock collar.
Two years ago, Kuhn was sentenced to 364 days in jail, with all but 10 days suspended, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated domestic violence assault. In addition, he faced probation after his release.
The new charges are considered a violation of that probation, and Kuhn is expected to make an initial appearance on a probation revocation hearing on Monday, according to the Waldo County district attorney’s office.
Kuhn also was convicted of domestic violence in 2009, according to previous reports.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.