1000 x 90

Avery County Man Indicted for Attempting to Plant a Bomb at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Office

By Tim Gardner

An Avery County man accused of trying to plant a bomb at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games office in Linville two years ago will appear before a federal judge on various charges in March.

A federal grand jury indicted 44-year-old Thomas Dewey Taylor, Jr. on February 8, and he’s been ordered to appear before a judge in Asheville on March 1. Dewey, who used to work at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, is accused of trying to use the bomb against his former employer, possessing a firearm not registered to him and making a bomb in September 2021.

Taylor, Jr.’s last known home address was 316 Snowshoe Loop, Newland.

He had been fired from his job as office manager for the Highland Games in August 2021 and was suspected of embezzling money and committing financial credit card theft. That prompted North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) agents to investigate and they found what was described as an improvised explosive device (IED) at the Highland Games office. 

Avery County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of the United States Department of Justice agents also participated in the investigation.

Taylor, Jr. was then arrested on three counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction. 

Taylor, Jr. is incarcerated in the Avery County Jail, according to Avery Sheriff Mike Henley.