LEXINGTON, Ky. — A man arrested while leaving a University of Kentucky hospital last week was armed with handguns, semiautomatic weapons and at least four explosives, and had threatened to harm any officer who tried to arrest him, a police official testified.
After Thursday’s testimony, a district judge sent the case against Bryan Carroll to a grand jury, which will determine if it moves to circuit court for trial, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Carroll, who was arrested on March 25, has been charged with four counts of using a weapon of mass destruction, five counts of possessing a handgun as a convicted felon, and four other counts, according to court records. UK Police Detective John Harder said police plan to file three new gun charges against Carroll, and he could face more charges related to the explosives.
His arrest led to a massive police presence and the arrival of a bomb squad to the UK campus, where Carroll had been visiting his ailing mother at the hospital.
Harder said UK police were tipped off by police in the nearby town of Versailles that Carroll was potentially armed and dangerous and that they had tracked him to UK Chandler Hospital.
Versailles Police Chief Mike Murray told The Associated Press on Friday that his department had been following Carroll because there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for a felony drug charge in Woodford County. Murray said Carroll was considered dangerous because he had stated previously that he would never go back to jail.
Harder said UK officers waited for Carroll to leave the hospital before blocking his parked vehicle. When he tried to run, an officer tackled him. He said Carroll had eight guns — six handguns, plus an AK-47 style weapon and an AR-15 — and at least four live explosives, either on him or in his car, when he was arrested. He was also wearing body armor with a pistol on his hip and admitted to having another handgun in his underwear, Harder said.
After he was detained, Carroll told UK police that they “weren’t the ones he had a problem with.”
“He made statements that he was aware of like a bigger scheme, or he could give us information on murders and drug rings,” Harder said. “I asked him if he would be able to speak to me, but he said he wanted to speak to someone higher. He made a few statements like that.”
Carroll’s attorney, J. Parker Mincy, argued in court that his client’s $150,000 bond was unfairly high because the charges Carroll faces are Class C felonies.
“We don’t want to downplay the charge, but the legislature made a decision to make this a Class C felony,” Mincy argued. “We see people routinely on Class B and A felonies that are classified as more severe offenses with lower bonds.”
Fayette District Judge John Tackett disagreed.
“I do find Mr. Carroll to be a significant danger to the community” and a flight risk, Tackett said.
Carroll also faces charges in federal court. The initial federal criminal complaint accused him of being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun and was based on evidence gathered during the arrest. Since then, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have spent days searching Carroll’s home and conducting controlled explosions at the property.
Sara Anderson, a spokesperson for the FBI, said Thursday that federal agents are still investigating.
