Versailles KY man who brought explosives to UK pleads guilty
A Versailles man who showed up to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in body armor with an “arsenal of weapons” has pleaded guilty to amended charges this week in federal court.
Bryan Carroll, 46, pleaded guilty Monday to three federal charges, including possessing a gun as a convicted felon, carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony offense and possessing an unregistered firearm, according to court records. The charges stemmed from a March 2021 incident in which Carroll allegedly took homemade explosives and several guns to the hospital, where his mother was receiving treatment.
The response to Carroll’s presence at the hospital forced the emergency room closed and caused federal investigators to show up to his home to conduct searches and controlled explosions.
Carroll faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a maximum $500,000 fine and six years of supervised release. He is expected to be sentenced in March 2024 — three years after the incident took place.
His attorney, Russell Baldani, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The federal case was separate from state charges that also stemmed from the incident. Those charges — which include use of weapons of mass destruction, felon in possession of a handgun, possessing a controlled substance, resisting arrest, fleeing police, possessing drug paraphernalia, and being a persistent felony offender — are still active. A status conference in that case is scheduled for Dec. 22.
The incident at UK Hospital unfolded after the Versailles Police Department alerted UK Police that Carroll was on his way to the hospital and he had an active arrest warrant stemming from a drug case. Law enforcement confronted Carroll outside the emergency department, where he was taken into custody after a brief struggle. During a search of Carroll and his Honda CR-V, officers located a total of eight firearms, including a sawed-off shotgun, four explosive devices, and one improvised explosive bomb, according to previous court testimony from a UK Police detective.
One of the explosives was a metal container with firework powder and 99 nails inside. When detonated, it would have released shrapnel up to 600 feet away, according to Carroll’s federal plea deal, which he signed. He cooperated with law enforcement at the scene and told them about more ammunition which he had inside his Versailles residence.
When officers searched his home, they found six additional explosives, two firearms and “Improvised explosive bomb” mixtures.
Carroll’s lawyer for his state case, J. Parker Mincy, previously argued in court that Carroll had no intention to harm anyone at the hospital because his own sick mother was in the hospital and his father was with him in the car.
Taylor Six is the criminal justice reporter at the Herald-Leader. She was born and raised in Lexington attending Lafayette High School. She graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2018 with a degree in journalism. She previously worked as the government reporter for the Richmond Register.
