Car-Bombers Indicted in Federal Court

BIRMINGHAM—A federal grand jury today indicted two Northport men on charges of conspiracy to possess an unregistered explosive device, possession of an unregistered explosive device, and being convicted felons in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Joyce White Vance and BATF Special Agent in Charge James M. Cavanaugh.

MICHAEL CLAYTON EARNEST, 52, was charged in four counts, and KEITH DEWAYNE LAWSON, 42, was charged in three counts of the indictment, which was filed today in U.S. District Court in Birmingham. The indictment comes in connection to a July 29 car bombing at a home in Parrish. The driver of the truck was seriously injured.

The maximum sentence for conspiracy to possess a non-registered destructive device is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum sentence for possession a non-registered destructive device is 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The maximum sentence for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, in conjunction with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, FBI, and the Parrish Police Department, have participated in this investigation. Assistant United States Attorney L. James Weil Jr. is prosecuting this case.

“This indictment is the result of an immediate and cohesive effort of numerous law enforcement agencies—federal, state, and local—to work together to investigate a horrific crime,” Vance said.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.