News

Dec 05, 2023

Police: Muncie man threw Molotov cocktails at chicken coop, dog house

MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie man was arrested on a preliminary count of attempted

MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie man was arrested on a preliminary count of attempted murder after allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at a neighbor's chicken coop and dog house.

Nathaniel Ray Rhum, 20, was also preliminarily charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, criminal mischief and attempted cruelty to an animal.

According to Muncie police, Rhum was arrested Saturday night after he threw a Molotov cocktail — an incendiary weapon designed to start fires — at a dog house outside a home in the 1700 block of West 15th Street.

About two hours earlier, he had allegedly thrown the same kind of device at a chicken coop on the same property.

Rhum told police he had thrown the devices in a bid to kill the property owner's dog.

More: Muncie man charged in armed home invasion

Investigators said Rhum's own dog, named Athena, had died on Saturday morning, a victim of stab wounds suffered a few days earlier after Rhum's canine had attacked the other man's dog.

The target of the Molotov cocktails said he had to fatally wound Rhum's dog "in self defense" because of its repeated attacks on his dog, on his property.

Witnesses reported seeing Rhum throw the explosive devices. The property owner said after throwing the second device, Rhum screamed, "You killed my dog!"

Rhum said after burying his own dog, he wanted the other man to "hurt like he did because his dog and chickens were still alive and Athena wasn't."

Asked what had motivated him to create and throw the Molotov cocktails, Rhum told an officer, "I wanted to kill him."

Police said the chicken coop and dog house were damaged by flames, but the chickens and the surviving canine were not injured,

Rhum continued to be held in the Delaware County jail on Monday under a $62,500 bond.

Last Wednesday, another resident of Rhum's home, 49-year-old Deborah Ann Floyd, was arrested on a preliminary count of intimidation after she allegedly threatened to kill the same man who was allegedly targeted by Rhum on Saturday.

An affidavit indicated last week's dispute also stemmed from the stabbing of Rhum's dog. Floyd was later released from the jail.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie man held for attempted murder after throwing Molotov cocktails