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Bomb Squad Responds To Inmate's House Fire

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By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune
and CARLOS MONCADA | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

Steven Blackwell

Steven Blackwell has been behind bars since June 2, but his house at 4550 39th St. N in St. Petersburg became a headache for firefighters and law enforcement last night, authorities say.

A fire erupted in the vacant, one-story home at about 4 p.m. last night, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Aside from firefighters, deputies, arson detectives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office bomb squad responded. Based on some tips and their prior dealings with Blackwell, authorities believed the house might have had dangerous chemicals or even be booby trapped.

Blackwell, 40, was arrested on several drug charges, including armed possession of cocaine, possession and sale of methamphetamine and possession and sale of marijuana.

"The fire department didn't even go inside the house to fight the fire – they fought it from the outside," PCSO spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said.

"We don't believe it's a bomb per se, but we received information there's some very volatile substances in various combinations that could be explosive."

Bomb squad members entered the burned out residence and found no explosive devices or booby traps, according to a PCSO media release. Certain chemicals were found in the residence in varying amounts.

The origin of the fire, according to the release, was in a utility room area in the southwest corner of the house. Detectives say it appears a pile of debris caught fire. Arson investigators are trying to determine if the fire was set intentionally.

The fire wasn't the only action at the scene.

Freelance news photographer Eamonn Kneeshaw – who does contract work for WFLA, TBO.com and many other media outlets - was served with a notice to appear on an obstruction charge. Deputies say he did not comply with a deputy's directions to stay behind the fire hoses and perimeter line.

Kneeshaw said he was walking up to the crime scene tape when Deputy Matthew Williams told him not to walk past his patrol car, which was about a block from the crime tape boundary.

Kneeshaw said after an exchange with the deputy he asked to speak to a supervisor but was denied. Instead, he said, he was handcuffed and put in the back of a cruiser for about 15 minutes.

Kneeshaw said he developed chest pains and was taken to Northside Hospital, where he was later released. He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 5 on the obstruction charge.

The fire was not the first time deputies visited the house since Blackwell was arrested.

Two days later, Pinellas detectives went to the home because associate of Blackwell's discovered what appears to have been a human skull stored in a box in a closet at the residence, according to the release. Detectives recovered the skull and sent it to a lab in Gainesville for examination. Detectives say the skull may have been used for academic purposes, and they intend to investigate its origin.

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