Man Arrested After Bomb Set at S. Forsyth Car Dealership

Updated, July 20, 6:35 p.m.

A 34-year-old Johns Creek man is behind bars at the  after he was arrested Thursday for making and igniting a homemade bomb at a south Forsyth County car dealership, authorities said.

The incident happened earlier this week following a call to the from , located at 345 McFarland Parkway. As employees were arriving to work on Tuesday morning, July 17, they found a vehicle and an area of asphalt near the vehicle damaged. During an investigation by authorities it was discovered that a homemade bomb thrown at a vehicle in the early morning hours caused the damage.

“This device was constructed to detonate on impact,” said Sheriff Ted Paxton. “However, that did not happen. The device had been contained in a glass jar before it was thrown. It appears that the remains of the content of the jar were manually lit by the perpetrator. The device became hot enough to cause some damage to the car and to melt the asphalt that was near the car, but it did not ignite the car.”

Paxton said the device, composed of some type of flammable compound, burned itself out and never detonated. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is testing the compounds of the bomb.

Arrested was Quinton Gregory Smith, 34, of Sandwedge Lane, in nearby Johns Creek. He has been charged with possession of an explosive/destructive device and criminal damage to property in the second degree. He is currently being held without bond.

“Once we looked at the surveillance video with the management at the business, we were able to identify a suspect who happened to be a man who had been terminated by the business the day before,” said Paxton.

Smith was employed by Progressive Parking, a vendor of RBM Mercedes that worked on the dealership lot washing and moving cars, an e-mail stated from the FCSO.

During a search of Smith’s residence, investigators were able to obtain enough incriminating evidence to link Smith to the crime.

"We believe his motive was revenge,” Paxton said. “However, this is still an ongoing investigation."

Editor's Note: The arrest information was supplied by the Forsyth Sheriff's Office. It does not indicate a conviction.