{"id":346044,"date":"2026-07-20T14:35:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/346044\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T14:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:35:16","slug":"florida-man-sentenced-to-20-years-for-chemical-pipe-bomb-attack-on-deputy-during-2024-traffic-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/346044\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida man sentenced to 20 years for chemical pipe bomb attack on deputy during 2024 traffic stop"},"content":{"rendered":"

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 A Florida man accused of a chemical pipe bomb attack<\/a> on a deputy in Putnam County in April 2024 has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, the State Attorney\u2019s Office announced Monday.<\/p>\n

State Attorney R.J. Larizza said Charles Legault pleaded no contest in May of this year to several charges, including making, possessing, throwing, projecting or discharging a destructive device resulting in bodily harm or property damage; carrying a concealed firearm during the commission of a felony; armed trafficking in meth; possession of meth with intent to sell; and possession of drug paraphernalia.<\/p>\n

Legault was pulled over on Mosely Avenue by a Putnam County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy on April 5, 2024, and body camera video shows<\/a> the deputy first smelling marijuana and then asking Legault if he could search the truck.<\/p>\n

Seconds later, the deputy finds what he believes are drugs and drug paraphernalia.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Man charged with possessing explosives following traffic stop that rushed Putnam County deputy to hospital<\/a><\/p>\n

Legault, then, is asked to get out of the truck. He is searched and then told to stand at the front of his truck while the deputy searches the rest of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

The deputy finds a handgun on the seat and more drugs. About 8 minutes and 45 seconds into the video, the chemical pipe bomb explodes in the deputy\u2019s face as he continues to search for drugs.<\/p>\n

The deputy struggles to breathe but manages to call for backup and place Legault into handcuffs.<\/p>\n

The deputy\u2019s uniform can be seen covered in a white chemical powder as he takes off his body armor. The deputy was taken to the hospital and treated for respiratory injuries.<\/p>\n

Investigators later learned the PVC pipe bomb was filled with chlorine and brake fluid.<\/p>\n

The bomb squad was called to the scene to clear the area of any other explosives.<\/p>\n

Detectives later learned the defendant had intentionally assembled the device and was also armed with a suppressor, loaded magazines, and ammunition. In addition, a large amount of methamphetamine was found in Legault\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n

The next day, deputies raided Lagault\u2019s house. They did not find any other bombs, but did discover more illegal drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defendant is a very dangerous individual who will be off our streets for a long time,\u201d Larizza said about the case. \u201cIt is a troubling reality that there are people out there who engage in such activities. Our communities are safe with his absence from the streets!\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 A Florida man accused of a chemical pipe bomb attack on a deputy in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,34927],"class_list":["post-346044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-putnam-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}