Tulsa County Deputies Arrest Man Accused Of Lighting Fireworks In Neighbor's Mailbox

Tulsa County Deputies arrest a man accused of using fireworks to blow up his neighbor's mailbox after he drank a fifth of whiskey.

People who live in that Jenks neighborhood say this is just the latest in a long history of disturbances.

Neighbors say Justin Smith has lived in this neighborhood for a long time and has caused issues before, but yesterday he took things to a new level when he started lighting off fireworks in mailboxes.

Gregory Circle is normally a calm and welcoming neighborhood.

"We were attracted to the neighborhood just because it was quiet. It was a nice family atmosphere," said Alex Nivens.

He says that wasn't the case Monday afternoon when he was at home with his young daughter and heard two loud explosions.

"It shook our house," said Nivens.

Tulsa County Deputies say Justin Smith is responsible for the startling disturbance. They say Smith lit off fireworks in his neighbor’s mailbox and front yard. 

"A female victim was jogging by as this happened and was nearly hit by, I guess, shrapnel or pieces of the fireworks as they went off," said Casey Roebuck with the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.

She says after a large response by ATF, Tulsa, and Jenks Police, deputies arrested Smith on charges of 4th-degree arson as well as public intoxication. 

"It's still pretty scary when someone is setting off fireworks in a mailbox," says Roebuck.

She says Smith was convicted of Arson back in 2017. The arrest report says he poured gasoline on his mom and threatened to light her on fire. While he's been in and out of jail since 1999, Roebuck says it can be hard for people like Smith to get the help they need.

"This is kind of a vicious circle that unfortunately isn't all that uncommon, but while he's in the jail, he will have access to services that perhaps can really help him," said Roebuck. 

Alex Nivens hopes his neighbor can get that help before something even worse happens.

"He clearly needs to be in a place where they can tend to him a little better," said Nivens.

Tulsa County Deputies say they are forwarding the investigation to the postmaster to see if they want to pursue federal charges against Smith since the crime involved a mailbox.