A New York City man was arrested August 8 after a six-month investigation following a road-rage incident in which he allegedly threw an incendiary device into the van of two fiber-optic technicians working for Verizon. The technicians were injured in the explosion; their names have not been released.
The incident happened at approximately 7:30pm on January 31, 2024 at the intersection of President Street and Brooklyn Avenue in Crown Heights. According to Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn resident Kevindale Nurse “deliberately threw an explosive device into the window of another vehicle on a public road, endangering the lives of the vehicle’s occupants and others in the area. Unfortunately, road rage is an all-too-common occurrence in our communities. But this dangerous and senseless attack on a busy intersection in the heart of Brooklyn was beyond the pale. We will vigorously prosecute this case.”
In a detention letter delivered to U.S. Magistrate Judge The Honorable Lara K. Eshkenazi on August 8—in which the U.S. Attorney’s office requested the defendant be detained while awaiting trial—Peace provided further detail on some of what took place January 31. “Two Verizon installation and repair technicians were driving a Verizon utility van equipped to work on high-speed data lines and fiber-optic equipment,” the letter states. “As they were driving, the Verizon repair technicians observed the defendant, who was driving a white mini bus, or ‘dollar van,’ driving erratically. As shown on video surveillance, the defendant’s dollar van stopped next to the Verizon utility van at the intersection of President Street and Brooklyn Avenue. The dollar van’s passenger-side door opened, and the dollar van then sped away through a red light. Witnesses at the scene reported to New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers that the defendant threw an explosive device from inside his dollar van into the driver’s-side window of the Verizon utility van. Moments later, as seen on video surveillance, a bright explosion occurred within the Verizon utility van, and the van drifted slowly into the active intersection.
“The Verizon utility van suffered significant damage as a result of the explosion, including a shattered windshield and deployed airbags. The Verizon repair technicians also sustained physical injuries as a result of the explosion, including ear issues such as tinnitus and hearing loss, and other complaints of pain in the neck and back after the blast, for which they received medical treatment.”
The image on this page shows the interior of the Verizon van after the explosion and was included with the August 8 detention letter.
Along with U.S. Attorney Pearce, ATF New York Division Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller and NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban announced Nurse’s arrest and indictment.
“The defendant committed an unconscionable act by using explosives during a road rage incident, disregarding the potentially deadly consequences when he threw an explosive device in a neighboring vehicle,” ATF’s Miller said. “Thanks to strong law enforcement partnerships and the investigative efforts of ATF NY’s Arson and Explosives Task Force comprising ATF agents, FDNY fire marshals and NYPD detectives, the NYPD 71st Precinct detective squad, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, this defendant will now face the consequences of his horrific actions.”
“There is no place in civil society for the spreading of fear through intimidation, violence, and destruction,” said NYPD Commissioner Caban. “I commend the work of our NYPD investigators, along with our law enforcement partners at the ATF and the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, for their dedication and collaboration in bringing this accused criminal to justice.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated the defendant’s four-year-old son was in the van with him when the incident took place.
If convicted, Nurse faces a sentence of a minimum of 7 years and maximum of 40 years in prison.
