A Hartville man was arrested Tuesday on charges of planning to use mannequins and explosives to attack a Stark County police department.
According to Alliance Municipal Court documents, 51-year-old Timothy Ward is accused of planning to set up the mannequins around the Marlboro Township Police Department to shoot officers. He’s also is accused of planning to blow up the building.
Ward was arrested at his father’s home in Lake Township on retaliation and weapons charges. It wasn’t immediately known if he has an attorney.
A search warrant conducted on his computer showed he possessed mannequins and explosives. WJW (Channel 8) in Cleveland reported that there is video showing Ward posing with mannequins, and that police have several such videos that were posted online.
According to the Associated Press, Ward was accused in 2008 of tying his wife to a chair and threatening to kill her while he went off to fight demons. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was released from community supervision last year.
Police were notified in June by a former girlfriend that Ward was planning to use mannequins to shoot officers and blow up the police station in Marlboro Township, according to court documents. In response, federal and local law enforcement officials searched Ward’s and his father’s homes June 15.
Police Chief Ron Devies said the FBI told him they found bomb-making materials and weapons parts.
Authorities also said Ward, using the pseudonym “Joe Smith,” posted videos to YouTube that included artwork signed by “Comrade,” mannequins dressed in patriotic garb and Bible recitations by candlelight.
“It’s bizarre activity. He was looking to wage war,” Devies said. “I mean he wanted to terrorize with the use of explosives.”