A 19-year-old St. Joe man will be allowed to post bail as he awaits further court proceedings in connection with the explosion of a bomb last month at a home on the Parkway. That, after a judge ruled he’s seen no evidence that there is a continuing threat to the victims.

Edward Catron is charged with knowingly burning or exploding, a class-e felony, for allegedly detonating an improvised explosive device at the home at 2402 NE Parkway May 29. As we reported, another judge had denied bond in the case.

In testimony during a bond hearing Wednesday, police investigators said they found a recipe for an explosive device, and an order receipt for potassium perchlorate in Catron’s bedroom area after a search of his home.  The compound is a rapid oxidizer frequently used in explosives. They say they also found firearms, drugs and paraphernalia in the bedroom.

The owner of the home that was bombed testified that the explosion caused between $22,000 and $31,000 damage to the porch and front door area of his home. Josh Nelson said one piece of shrapnel went through the inside of the house and left a dent in a dishwasher 30 feet from the front door. Nelson said the explosion left a debris field that extended some 60 yards into the front yard. He says he heard a motion detector, and then footsteps from the porch, and got up to investigate just before the bomb went off.

Nelson said he and his wife were in bed about six feet from the front door just before the explosion. Josie Nelson testified that she is terrified at the prospect of Catron being freed on bail, saying he places himself above the law and there’s nothing to prevent him from doing this sort of thing again.

But Circuit Judge Patrick Robb told the lawyers in the case that Catron has a right to an appropriate bond under the Constitution, and that Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins had failed to produce evidence Catron posed a continuing threat to the victims. Nevertheless, the judge did order Catron to stay away from the victims and their homes as one of many conditions for bail. Catron would live with his parents if freed, and they live about a half mile from the bomb site.

Judge Robb set bail at $50,000 cash or surety and  scheduled the case for a status review July 19 at 1:30 pm.

The case was originally assigned to Circuit Judge Daniel Kellogg. But in a hearing June 22, Judge Kellogg recused himself from the case, saying he’s acquainted with the families of the victim and the defendant.