May 11, 2002: Mysterious US Army Soldier Attempts to Detonate Explosive at Florida Power Plant

The main generating plant of the Florida Power and Light Company in Jacksonville, Florida. [Source: State Archives of Florida]US Army Specialist Derek Lawrence Peterson is arrested after a Florida police officer, D. F. Valiante, pulls him over for speeding and discovers a wide range of incriminating materials in his truck. Peterson is stopped for speeding in Jacksonville, Florida, by a local deputy sheriff. The deputy is “amazed to find the truck’s driver dressed all in black, wearing a pistol in a shoulder holster and plastic pads on his elbows and knees. In the truck also were large knives, a 12-gauge shotgun, shotgun and pistol ammunition, four ammo magazines, a six-volt battery, duct tape, speaker wire, and parts of an explosive device.” However, the officer is shocked to find the suspect is a soldier on leave from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Shortly after the arrest, the officer realizes he spotted the exact same truck 30 minutes earlier, backing up to the main gate of the nearby Florida Power and Light station. When he and fellow officers visit the power station, they discover footprints on a dirt road leading to an explosive device planted underneath some power lines. Valiante will later say that after informing Peterson of his rights while taking him into custody, Peterson “advised me that he was on the power plant property to practice recon tactics.” According to the Savannah Morning News, “Peterson allegedly told police he had placed a Hoffman explosive device, equal in power to a half-stick of dynamite. He had planned to detonate the explosive but was worried that he would be injured in the blast.” Peterson will be held on a $5 million bond and will eventually receive probation on June 9, 2002. Hank Coxe, Peterson’s attorney, will later say that his client’s case “had been blown out of proportion because police initially suspected Peterson’s acts were related to terrorism.” It remains unclear as to why Peterson would use such dangerous methods in order to practice reconnaissance tactics, or how he is able to avoid a thorough prison sentencing. [Florida Times-Union, 5/14/2002; Savannah Morning News, 5/16/2002; Florida Times-Union, 6/8/2002; Marrs, 9/1/2006, pp. 436]