Background: The area of 7900 State Route 22 in Salem Township, Pennsylvania (Google Maps). Inset: James Sever (Pennsylvania State Police).
A landlord was starting his lawn mower in a rural township when suddenly the machine exploded – and police believe it wasn”t an accident.
David Martin reported to Pennsylvania police around 4:30 p.m. on July 20 about a “loud explosion” at his rental property located in the 7900 block of Salem Township, Westmoreland County, as outlined in an affidavit of probable cause. He mentioned that he “had started his Club Cadet zero-turn lawn mower”, and shortly thereafter, an explosion occurred beneath, “which he believed might have been a bomb.”
Local and federal agencies, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, arrived at the scene, and Martin provided further details on the incident.
He arrived at his rental property approximately 30 minutes prior to conduct maintenance work. He informed investigators that he had not worked on the property or used the lawn mower for three days, the affidavit noted. Martin mentioned he first entered the garage bay and refueled the machine. He then sat on the seated lawn mower, powered it on, and let it idle for about ten seconds. Once he activated the handles to advance it, “a loud explosion occurred, propelling him forward.” He then leapt off and ran outside.
Several significant details in the investigation pointed authorities towards their suspect – 54-year-old James Sever, who Martin reported he had evicted from his property on June 3. A state trooper recalled visiting the property on June 11 when Sever returned and “made threatening statements” directed at Martin, as the affidavit indicated.
Authorities stated that Sever was “upset” with Martin due to his eviction. The suspect reportedly warned, “You’re going to end up getting yourself hurt over this.”
The “explosion” occurred approximately five weeks following the alleged threat. During their investigation, state troopers also interviewed a witness present at the scene who mentioned he was raking grass when he heard a “loud explosion” and saw Martin escaping from the garage bay.
The witness stated he believed it was a problem with the machine, so he ran inside and turned it off. When he did so, he noticed that a “wooden cat box, also located within the bay, was on fire,” and he brought it outside.
When investigators entered the bay, they found “metal shrapnel throughout the entire structure.” There was also, per the affidavit, “small pieces of threaded pipe,” black plastic zip ties, nails, screws, and “battery, and wire components.” Furthermore, in rooms to the right and left were “larger metal pieces of shrapnel consistent with a metal pipe forced through the wall from the explosion.”
Experts are said to have reviewed the materials and confirmed that an improvised explosive device had been used. Investigators continued digging into Sever and reportedly found new clues.
A search warrant of the suspect’s phone records showed he was less than a half-mile from the road on which lay the rental property the previous day, July 19, for about 50 minutes in the early evening, the affidavit states. Nearby tire tracks also appeared to match those that would be made from Sever’s white Dodge Ram 1500 truck.
Sever’s truck was subsequently searched, an exploration that found black zip tie cords that appeared to be the same kind as those found in the garage bay. Also located in the truck were “a red t-shirt and black/blue shorts,” police said.
The day after the “explosion,” police interviewed another witness – who lived nearby the rental property. They reported being approached by Sever on the date of the alleged crime, with him donning a red T-shirt and black or dark blue shorts.
He “appeared dirty, disheveled and was acting nervous and erratic,” the witness said, and he had reportedly asked about her neighbors and spoken about his eviction.
A third witness — Sever’s upstairs neighbor from February to October of 2023 — also spoke to investigators, per the affidavit. In the spring of that year, Sever was allegedly “upset” with his then-property manager “because smoke was coming into the residence due to issues with the chimney.”
Sever, according to the neighbor, had said, “I’ll blow that motherf–er up.”
An arrest warrant for Sever was filed on Friday, though no announcement of his arrest has yet been made. The Pennsylvania State Police said he is known to “frequent the wooded areas in the Derry/Blairsville area” and asked people to call 911 if they see him.
According to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, Sever faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, weapons of mass destruction, risking catastrophe, possessing an instrument of crime, trespassing, and simple assault.
