'Stink bomb' attack on Spectrum turns into terrorist threat charges

A 35-year-old Cape Girardeau man has been charged with making a terrorist threat after he set off a stink bomb Tuesday at the Spectrum cable service office in Cape Girardeau.

Deandre Dunn is accused of the crime, which caused the office at 623 S. Silver Springs Rd. to be evacuated, according to the felony charge filed Wednesday in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court.

According to a probable-cause statement, employees and witnesses observed Dunn enter the building.

Deandre Dunn

He appeared to be upset about the services he received, according to the statement filed by police patrolman Brendon Whitlock.

While Spectrum employee Lisa Smith attempted to resolve the issue, Dunn “continued to be disgruntled about the services and unhappy about the resolution,” Whitlock wrote.

Smith told police that she observed Dunn to be “below the counter” when she returned from retrieving a router, according to the statement.

Smith and fellow employee Charlene Long said Dunn left in a hurry.

“Shortly after Dunn exited the business, multiple employees … reported feeling dizzy, light headed, nauseous and smelling rotten eggs,” the statement read.

When the odor became overbearing, four employees and six customers evacuated the building.

Police responded to the scene at 10:20 a.m., closing the strip mall to traffic while officers and firefighters investigated the situation. The area was later reopened to the public.

Those affected were treated at the scene and did not require additional medical care, police said in a news release Wednesday.

Smith and Long said they suspected Dunn of creating the stink after a broken glass vial was found on the floor where he had been standing, according to the probable-cause statement.

The liquid was found to contain compounds that created a “disturbing odor,” the release said. Tests found no harmful chemicals, police said.

Long told police that Dunn typically uses a walking cane, but did not bring it into the office on Tuesday.

Police later located Dunn at his Cape Girardeau apartment. He admitted it was possible that a “stink bomb accidentally fell out of his pocket inside the business,” Whitlock wrote.

Police searched Dunn’s vehicle and found a blue box containing a glass vial, which appeared to have the same blue writing on the glass as that recovered in the Spectrum office.

In a subsequent interview at the police station, Dunn said that he had been upset with his cable service for about four years.

“Dunn stated it was possible the vial accidentally removed itself from the box inside of his pocket, accidentally fell out of his pocket, and he may have accidentlaly stepped on it while leaving the business,” Whitlock wrote.

Dunn told police that “none of this was intentional and he never intended on hurting anyone,” according to the statement.

But prosecutors charged that Dunn “recklessly disregarded the risk of causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure” of the building.

Dunn “knowingly caused a false belief or fear that an incident had occurred or that a condition existed involving danger to life by setting off a stink bomb and causing the complete evacuation of the building,” according to the complaint filed by prosecutors.

Dunn was being held on a $5,000 cash only bond.

Do you like stories about government and courts? Keep up with the latest news by signing up for our daily morning headline email. Go to semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.