By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Court documents say Christopher Byassee, described in the filings as a convicted felon, threw an improvised explosive device at a Mesa, Arizona, police patrol car around 6 a.m. Nov. 12 while the officer was inside.
- The device detonated near the rear driver-side tire, blowing off the gas door, damaging a taillight and leaving burn marks and residue; the officer reported ringing in his ear.
- Neighbor surveillance video shows two men on a patio, one holding an item that appeared to be on fire, and the taller man, identified as Byassee, throwing it toward the car.
- Byassee’s bond was set at $500,000 on charges including aggravated assault on a first responder, arson of an occupied structure and two counts of possessing a weapon as a prohibited possessor.
- A second man, identified as Christopher Jones, was booked as an accomplice with a $200,000 bond; both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
MESA, Ariz. — A convicted felon is accused of intentionally throwing an explosive device at a Mesa police officer’s patrol car while the officer was inside, according to court documents obtained by AZ Family.
Around 6 a.m. Nov. 12, officers were investigating a report of shots fired near 96th Street and Hampton Avenue. One officer stopped about two blocks north, at 96th Street and Sunland Avenue, with his emergency lights on and his windows down. The documents say the suspect, identified as Christopher Byassee, threw an explosive device at the car, and it detonated near the rear driver-side tire. The blast blew off the gas door, damaged a taillight and left burn marks and residue on the vehicle. The officer drove away to find cover because he did not know what had exploded, and he reported ringing in his ear. Police said the shots-fired report appears to be unrelated to the explosion.
A neighbor’s surveillance camera recorded two men standing on a patio, according to the documents. One held an item that appeared to be on fire, and the taller man, identified as Byassee, threw it toward the patrol car. Police said the device landed, rolled toward the car and exploded about five seconds later in a large cloud of smoke. Both men then walked back into the house.
When officers called people out of the home, Byassee, a man identified as Christopher Jones and the homeowner came out and were detained. Police ruled out the homeowner as a suspect because he uses a walker and did not match the two men in the video. Bomb squad detectives confirmed an improvised explosive device had detonated and found small pieces of cardboard and scorch marks at the intersection. A search warrant turned up lighters and a butane torch in the home, and investigators took DNA and residue swabs from both men.
Byassee and Jones initially denied knowing what caused the explosion, the documents say. Jones later told police he saw Byassee holding a butane torch and something lit that he thought was a firework, and that Byassee threw it over his shoulder at the patrol car. Officers also found several firearms in a back bedroom with a keypad lock, including a shotgun with a damaged serial number. The homeowner identified the room as Byassee’s.
Byassee asked for an attorney. His bond was set at $500,000 on charges of aggravated assault on a first responder, arson of an occupied structure, possession of a prohibited weapon, criminal damage, disorderly conduct, depositing explosives and two counts of possessing a weapon as a prohibited possessor. Jones was booked as an accomplice on charges of arson of an occupied structure and criminal damage, with bond set at $200,000.