Fort Stewart GI jailed for placing explosive in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - Police said Thursday that a soldier from Fort Stewart, Georgia, has been arrested on charges of planting an explosive device on a dirt road in northeastern Florida. <br> <br> Twenty-seven-year-old Specialist Derek Lawrence Peterson is being held on five million dollar bond at the Jacksonville Pretrial Detention Center. <br> <br> Jacksonville Sheriff&#39;s Detective Larry Johns said, ``He was a soldier on leave, playing soldier.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Johns said reports that the device, equal in power to about a half-stick of dynamite, was placed at a power plant or near power lines, were incorrect. <br> <br> Johns said, ``This has been blown way out of proportion.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> He said the device was in the middle of a dirt road and the nearest power pole was 30 feet away, adding that if it had gone off where it was placed, it would have caused no damage. <br> <br> Assistant State Attorney Steve Siegel said the judge imposed the bond based on the information he had at the time. <br> <br> Rich Olson, a spokesman for Fort Stewart, said the explosive charge is known as a Hoffman explosive device and is fired by tanks during training exercises to simulate live fire. <br> <br> Peterson, who attended Jacksonville schools and lists his hometown as Jacksonville, belongs to B Company, First Battalion, 64th Armor, and has been at Fort Stewart since March. <br> <br> Peterson&#39;s next court date is June 4.