LAKE MARY, Fla. — A revenge-minded Longwood-area handyman is accused of building a real pipe bomb and placing it near the home of a Lake Mary woman who kicked him out of a barn where he used to live, records allege.
- Joseph Lauren Palaia arrested in pipe-bomb case
- Handyman accused of second-degree felony
- Suspect held on $15,000 bond at Seminole's jail
- More Seminole County stories
A woman who lives on the property off South Country Club Road in Lake Mary found a “suspicious item” December 6, an arrest report says.
An investigator said the device looked like a pipe bomb. It was about 70 to 80 feet from the couple's home.
She told officers about the former barn-dweller.
Experts from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Ordnance Disposal Unit called it “an actual bomb,” Palaia’s arrest report said. Multiple “mortar-style fireworks” were found inside two plastic pipes wrapped together with black electrical and silver air-conditioning tapes, the report said.
Investigators said they found a fingerprint from Palaia on the silver tape.
Palaia, 52, agreed to talk to investigators on December 31 at his home in unincorporated Longwood.
“At different points in the conversation, the defendant stated he wanted 'revenge' on (the woman who found the bomb) for kicking him off the property,” the arrest report said.
He also said he had not been on the property since March 2019.
The property owned by the woman and her husband in the Countryside 2 subdivision spans more than an acre. It includes a four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home with 2,526 square-feet of living space. The barn has 300 square feet of space.
“The defendant denied making the device and was not able to provide an explanation as to how his fingerprint was located on the sticky side of the tape,” the report said.
After he was arrested and informed of his right to remain silent, he reiterated his desire to get revenge on the woman.
He said he found “wet” fireworks at an industrial park.
"The defendant stated he frequents the area surrounding the victim's property, specifically neighbors within two (2) houses of the aforementioned property," the report said.
He was arrested that day and booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford and charged with a second degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.