A New York woman who hurled an explosive device at her boyfriend is now facing nearly two decades in prison.
Keyonna Waddell, 35, received an 18-year prison sentence on Wednesday, along with five years of post-release supervision, after a jury found her guilty of assault and criminal possession of a weapon. According to a press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Waddell was locked in an argument with her former boyfriend on the night of March 22, 2024, when he told her to get out of his apartment.
The unnamed victim went to bed, thinking the situation had passed. But as he slept, a hissing sound jolted him awake.
What the man discovered was a lit stick of dynamite. He desperately tried to put out the fuse, but his efforts were unsuccessful. As he grabbed the dynamite to hurl it out the window, it detonated. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney stated in the press release that the man “felt searing pain and realized that his hand was gone” following the blast. He rushed out of his home and spotted Waddell fleeing the property on foot.
The man was rushed to the hospital, where doctors amputated the remainder of his hand and part of the same arm.
A deeper investigation into the incident revealed that Waddell “had threatened the victim with dynamite several times” over the course of several months. Authorities arrested her the day after the explosion.
Tierney stated in the press release, “This sentence is a measure of justice for a victim who survived an act of unspeakable domestic violence in his own home.”
Waddell had faced a maximum of 25 years in prison for her crime.
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