Reporters for The News & Observer of Raleigh needed a potent dose of skepticism for their article about a Fuquay-Varina bomb-building teen-ager.
But they defused the threat that Jarrett William Brown posed, and instead blew up the theme that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” Not one source skeptical of the Brown family’s explanations was cited in the story.
Writers Andrea Weigl and Oren Dorell backed up the headline “Pipe Bombs Linked to Idleness” with the idea that Brown was a “curious kid with a knack for chemistry who never intended to hurt anyone,” based on his parents’ assertions. Investigators found six pipe bombs in the trunk of Brown’s father’s car after the car the 17-year-old was driving sideswiped another vehicle in Cary. Police searched his home in Fuquay-Varina (and evacuated neighbors), and found 18 more bombs and partially made devices in his bedroom.
The N&O reported that Brown was being held at Wake County Detention Center on $100,000 secured bond, charged with 24 counts of possessing weapons of mass destruction. That’s a relief, because the whole bomb-building tale doesn’t add up, and the family’s excuses are lame.
“I think he was curious to see if he could do it,” Greg Brown said after his son’s court appearance Tuesday. “He wouldn’t hurt anyone. He’s a good kid.”
Cary Police Lt. Tony Godwin backed up that story, to a degree.
“As far as we know right now, there was no intention to bomb a school or hurt a person or anything like that,” he told the N&O. “It’s not a Columbine-type of situation.”
According to the newspaper, Jarrett Brown’s activities can be chalked up to curiosity and chemistry competence.
“I can’t say I can understand or explain what has happened,” Greg Brown explained to a judge. “We were not aware of what has taken place. He excels in chemistry, and that’s probably what led him to do what he’s done.”
According to the N&O, “To his parents and friends, Jarrett Brown is a Boy Scout, a math and science tutor and an honor roll student who hoped to earn a scholarship to college based on his knowledge of chemistry and a PSAT score of 1460.”
Brown’s interest in chemistry led him to mix fuses and gunpowder inside a copper pipe — materials that his allegedly ignorant parents said were purchased at stores such as Wal-Mart. The concoction just happened to produce an explosive device.
Brown’s parents played up the “good, curious, student-as-victim” theme, which the N&O swallowed whole:
“’He didn’t realize the magnitude of what happened to him,” said Connie Brown. She says her son asked one of the detectives whether he could go to school Tuesday and was upset when he realized he would miss the first day of classes.
“Greg Brown said his son hoped to use his science skills for good. His goal was to try to find a cure for cancer. Now that’s gone. I don’t think he realized what he was doing,” she said.
Jarrett Brown fled after the collision, police said, His parents said they think he drove off because he was concerned about their insurance rates going up, because the family is having financial problems.
I’m sure insurance rates do tend to rise when you transport pipe bombs.
So, did the N&O ask any questions about the bomb craters in the Browns’ story? Apparently not, as reporters instead tried to confirm through fellow students and teachers that young Jarrett was harmless:
“’He’s very nice,” said senior Aileen Coyle, 17, a friend of Brown’s. “He likes to experiment. He wants to be a chemist.”
Coyle met Brown in class and said she can’t imagine that he wanted to hurt anyone.
Mark Trezona, who taught Brown chemistry at Apex, called him “a good kid” and said, “He has all the characteristics of a good student. His aspirations were to have other kids be interested in science,” Trezona said.”
Surprise, Brown’s flair for bomb-building never manifested itself in class. Nor did his dad sense the need to spend any time in his son’s room, the N&O reported:
“Greg Brown said he was never suspicious of his son or what was going on in his bedroom.
“Because he was a really good kid, I didn’t think I needed to go through his drawers,” Greg Brown said.
He said that he had hoped he could employ his son this summer but that his contracting business didn’t have enough work. “He was at home with nothing to do,” Greg Brown said. “If I can tell anybody anything: Give your kids something to do.”
Let’s see, Jarrett Brown’s parents knew where the materials were bought; that his interest in chemistry led him to try the lethal mixture of pipes and gunpowder; that he left an accident scene because of insurance rate hikes; that the chemistry genius couldn’t find anything productive or legal to do at home so he drifted into bomb-making; which will now ruin his chances to find a cancer cure.
Evidently the N&O couldn’t think of anybody around here who would doubt that story.
Paul Chesser is associate editor of Carolina Journal. Contact him at [email protected].