Metal scavengers plead guilty to causing Tacoma explosion

A couple hurt last year when a 20mm shell they’d scavenged from Joint Base Lewis-McChord exploded in their faces pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge stemming from the blast.

Juliette Parker and Cody Hyman each entered guilty pleas to one count of second-degree reckless burning and were given suspended sentences in Pierce County Superior Court.

Parker, 33, and Hyman, 28, originally had been charged with possession of an explosive device, third-degree assault and reckless endangerment.

Investigators determined they’d scavenged buckets of ammunition, including an 81mm mortar round, from JBLM, and had been melting down the shells to sell as scrap, court records show.

Parker told authorities they’d found the munitions while camping near Lake Lewis.

They were hurt Jan. 18, 2014, after an explosion rocked their Tacoma home. Hyman’s hand was mangled and Parker suffered face injures.

Parker told investigators Hyman had been trying to disassemble a 20mm shell when it exploded, court records show.

The blast blew a 2-foot-wide hole in the floor just above a room where Parker’s children, then ages 4 and 10, were asleep. The kids were not hurt.

This story was originally published February 3, 2015 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Metal scavengers plead guilty to causing Tacoma explosion ."