Irving J. Talavera Jr. of Rotterdam, New York, was arrested for second-degree attempted arson on March 21. The felony charge stems from Talavera’s alleged attempt to blow up a hunting camp and its occupants in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York.
According to statements filed in the case, the 40-year-old turned on the camp’s propane stove and rigged the front door with fireworks. The explosives were fastened such that they’d light when the door opened, thus igniting the propane-filled cabin.
Talavera was previously a member of the hunting camp but was recently kicked out of the club.
When two active camp members went to change the locks on March 21, they could smell propane coming from the building. After closing the gas line and waiting 20 minutes for the air to clear, the men kicked in the front door. Fortunately for them, the boobytrap didn’t work.
“I saw a half-dollar-sized spark in the top of the door when I kicked it open,” one man stated for the record. “The spark was from the top right of the door on the inside.”
According to one of the camp members, Talavera admitted to turning on the propane and leaving “poppers” on the door. Talavera claimed it was all just a joke, though.
Talavera turned himself in to police and was arraigned in the Town of Hope court and released on a $5,000 bond. He’s due back in court next week.
Thankfully this story has a better ending than Brandon Butler’s, whose hunting cabin was torched by poachers in Missouri earlier this year.
