A man from Chatham County has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his involvement in planting and detonating a bomb that significantly damaged a woman's home. Stephen Glosser, aged 38, of Savannah, admitted guilt to charges of stalking and using an explosive to commit another felony offense. The sentence was announced by Tara M. Lyons, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge R. Stan Baker imposed a sentence of 240 months in prison on Glosser, alongside an order to pay $507,781 in restitution to two victims involved in the case. Additionally, Glosser is required to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. It should be noted that there is no parole within the federal system.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lyons commented on the severity of the crime: “The level of malevolent violence in this case is astounding, and it’s truly fortunate that there were no deaths as a result of this horrific crime.” She credited the success of the prosecution to "the outstanding investigative work of the ATF and our state and local law enforcement partners."
According to court documents and testimonies, emergency services responded on January 13, 2023, to an explosion at a Richmond Hill home with two occupants inside. This incident led to Glosser's arrest along with a co-conspirator and resulted in a federal indictment by March 2024.
Glosser's guilty plea detailed plans he made with his co-conspirator aimed at harming or intimidating the victim through various means including shooting arrows into her door, releasing a python into her home, sending dog feces and dead rats via mail, scalping her, and ultimately bombing her residence.
The investigation revealed that Glosser used internet searches on his cell phone based on an image shared by the victim to locate her address. His co-conspirator procured exploding targets online which were then utilized in constructing the bomb used against the victim's home. Following this act, Glosser attempted to erase evidence by hiring cleaning services for his residence.
Currently awaiting prosecution is Glosser’s co-conspirator who was detained in Louisiana for unrelated charges; he remains presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
Beau Kolodka from ATF remarked: “This case demonstrates the devastating impact of violent criminals who stop at nothing to terrorize their victims.” Chris Hosey from Georgia Bureau of Investigation added: “This case serves as a stark reminder that those who use terror and threats will face the full force of law.”
The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies including Bryan County Fire and Emergency Services, Georgia Bureau of Investigation among others. The United States' prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney L. Alexander Hamner from Southern District of Georgia.