Wind power…and hand grenades?

This is an odd story.

Charles Anthony Malouff used to be a cop; he worked for both the Bosque County sheriff’s office and the Bertram Police Department. In 2007, he was convicted of “unlawful transfer of a firearm” and got three years probation.

The charge related to Malouff’s keeping and handling of noise-flash diversionary devices, also known as flash bangs or stun grenades, a federal affidavit said.

It is not clear to me if he resigned or was fired, but in either case he stopped being a police officer.

Malouff and Mary Jo Woodall have been indicted on various fraud charges; the two are accused of trying to fraudulently obtain federal stimulus funds for a wind farm near Jonestown.

Back in October, search warrants were served at Malouff and Woodall’s homes. In the process, two gun safes were found at Woodall’s home. Woodall said they belonged to Malouff. The safes were opened, and…

…authorities found 36 guns and at least 10 so-called “destructive devices,” including eight grenades, court documents state.

According to the Statesman, the “destructive devices” were registered to the two agencies Malouff worked for. Malouff has pled guilty to the weapons charges; the plea agreement specifies a 2 1/2 year sentence, subject to judicial approval. The Statesman article raises a whole host of questions:

One Response to “Wind power…and hand grenades?”

  1. Brian Dunbar says:

    What does a police department do with a hand grenade?

    ‘A fella could have a real good time in Vegas with this stuff.’

    I, too, have a hard time imagining what any police officer, in any city, would do with a fragmentation grenade.

    On the other hand, SWAT teams are as heavily armed as a squad of Marines, if not as well trained or disciplined.

    They already have machine guns, sub-machine guns, automatic rifles, armored vehicles. What’s a hand grenade on top of all that?

    An inch of snow at the North Pole, that’s what.