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Pair plead guilty in homemade bomb case

Two men pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal firearms charges that stemmed from the premature explosion of a homemade bomb last spring.

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Martin Boyette, charged in Sampson Co. bomb case
RALEIGH, N.C. — Two men pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal firearms charges that stemmed from the premature explosion of a homemade bomb  last spring.

Martin Bryant Boyette, 35, and Julio Frentez Morales, 26, both of 1681 Keener Road in Clinton, pleaded guilty to being felons in possession of a firearm. They will be sentenced later and face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Both men were injured on April 30 when Morales tried to throw a homemade bomb out the window of a minivan on U.S. Highway 701 as they drove past Hobbton Schools, authorities said.

The bomb went off in Morales' hand, seriously injuring him, and a piece of shrapnel hit Boyette in the back of the head, authorities said.

Investigators said Boyette and Morales planned to throw the bomb at a man dating Boyette's ex-girlfriend.

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