(The Associated Press distributed the following article on December 9.)
WASHINGTON — A man who wielded a grenade in Union Station was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday.
Juann R. Tubbs caused a scare on June 9 when he walked into a store inside the main railroad station for the nation’s capital. Tubbs, 38, displayed a silver hand grenade and threatened to pull the pin unless a worker gave him $20. The employee, unsure if the grenade was real, said he did not have the money, and Tubbs walked out.
A short time later, a security officer saw Tubbs drop the grenade, then pick it up. Authorities caught up with Tubbs outside the station, where he pulled the pin.
Amtrak Police Officer Rodney Chambers — a former Military Police officer with explosives experience — lunged at Tubbs, eventually getting control of the device. Investigators later determined the grenade lacked the means to detonate.
Tubbs, formerly of Tampa, Fla., pleaded guilty in August to several charges. After serving his time, he will be subject to three years of supervised release.
Chambers and U.S. Capitol Police Officer Michael DeCarlo, who also confronted Tubbs, were both honored for bravery by Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta during an awards ceremony in October.