Woman throws explosive at boyfriend as he slept; convicted of assault

SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y. — A New York woman has been convicted after she threw an explosive at her boyfriend as he slept.

A jury in Suffolk County, New York, convicted Keyonna Waddell of assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said.

The prosecution said the couple had an argument on March 22, 2024. The boyfriend left the apartment, as did Waddell. When he returned, he went to bed but was awakened by a hissing sound and saw fire on the floor of his bedroom.

He found what appeared to be a stick of dynamite that had apparently been thrown into his bedroom, and he tried unsuccessfully to put it out, a news release said.

He picked it up and tried to throw it outside, but the stick blew up in his hand.

“He felt searing pain and realized that his hand was gone,” the district attorney said.

As the man ran to the end of his driveway, he said he saw Waddell running away.

Police transported the man to an area hospital, where the remainder of his hand and part of his arm had to be amputated, the district attorney said.

Waddell was arrested the next day. Officials said that she had threatened the man several times with dynamite in the months leading up to the incident, the district attorney said in the news release about the conviction.

Waddell will be back in court next month for sentencing.