Inset: Randall Hamblen (Garland County Sheriff”s Office). Background: A section of Tallentwood Place in Garland County, Ark. (Google Maps).
Authorities in Arkansas say a man set off an explosion at his ex-wife’s home after allegedly threatening to “take” what the two had “built” together.
Randall Hamblen, 50, is charged with arson, second-degree battery, aggravated assault, and violating a protective order, according to Garland County jail records reviewed by Law&Crime.
He is currently being held on a $100,000 bond.
Investigators say that on May 20, Hamblen drove a gold 2003 Dodge 1500 pickup to a home on Tallentwood Place in Garland County. Authorities say he had previously lived there with his wife before their divorce was finalized 12 days earlier.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Hot Springs Sentinel Record, a man at the home answered the door and saw Hamblen outside. Hamblen allegedly told him, “Oh good, you’re here. Get the dogs out of the house.”
The man then reportedly exited through the back door and went around to the carport, where Hamblen was standing. At that point, investigators allege Hamblen leaned over, ignited something, and a “boom” followed.
Authorities did not note what exactly exploded, but the affidavit stated that both men suffered burns to their bodies from the ensuing flames. Responding investigators dug into Hamblen’s past, learning more about his relationship with his ex-wife.
The previous October, Hamblen was reportedly served with a court order banning him from contacting his then-estranged wife as well as from going to the Tallentwood Place house. The woman claimed that Hamblen had been drinking more often and made threats to “burn our house down” if she changed its locks.
On Oct. 19, 2025, he texted her that a divorce would be “mutually assured destruction” and that he was “on the verge of earning the part of me I didn’t want to see” if she didn’t talk to him, the regional newspaper reported.
He was allegedly threatening her for months and vowed to “take what we built” and said they “will burn together.”
It is unclear whether the woman was inside the home at the time of the explosion.
