The man arrested outside the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital on Thursday had seven guns and four improvised explosive devices, according to new records obtained Friday.
Bryan Thomas Carroll, 44, was arrested at 10:20 a.m. Thursday in the emergency room parking lot outside UK Hospital after police were notified of his presence at the hospital and told he may be “armed and dangerous,” according to court records and police comments.
Carroll made his first court appearance in Fayette District Court on Friday. He was appointed a public defender and will return to court on April 1. Carroll was being held at the Fayette County Detention Center.
Fayette District Judge Joseph Bouvier declined to review or lower Carroll’s $150,000 bond given the 14 state court charges he faces and the severity of the charges against him, including multiple counts of use of a weapon of mass destruction. Carroll, who has been arrested several times over the past several years, had also cut off an ankle monitoring bracelet in the past, Bouvier said on Friday.
Newly-unsealed court records also showed there was a criminal complaint filed against him in federal court. The FBI said Friday it was with the ATF in Versailles, where Carroll lives, to perform “controlled explosions” and take other measures to address safety concerns.
“The federal search warrant at his residence is ongoing,” said Sara Anderson, a spokesperson for the FBI. “We do expect federal charges to be brought against him, but not before later (Friday).”
New arrest details: Carroll tried to run to his car
The incident started when UK police were notified by Versailles police that Carroll — who was described as a “dangerous fugitive” — was en route to the hospital to visit a family member, according to federal court records and police comments. Police used surveillance cameras to watch Carroll arrive at the hospital, according to a federal affidavit.
Authorities continued to monitor Carroll’s movements inside the hospital after he arrived, according to an arrest citation written by UK police. Officers tried to arrest Carroll as soon as he walked back out of the emergency room door, but he tried to run to the driver’s side door of his vehicle in the parking lot.
One officer was able to grab him, and another officer assisted in taking him to the ground, according to the arrest citation. Carroll continued to resist arrest but was eventually handcuffed.
A detective found two handguns concealed on Carroll when he searched him, according to the citation. The guns included a Smith and Wesson Bodyguard, a .380ACP pistol loaded with six rounds of ammunition, and a Kahr Model PM9, 9mm pistol loaded with seven rounds of ammunition, according to a federal affidavit.
Meanwhile, Carroll’s father was sitting in the suspect’s Honda CR-V, according to the arrest citation. Police asked his father to step out of the vehicle and began to search the vehicle.
Officers found two “long guns in the rear seat with a large amount of ammunition,” according to the arrest citation.
But the bigger issue was what police found when they tried to remove the guns from the car as a detective “noted a suspicious looking item made of paper and tape which resembled an improvised explosive device,” according to the arrest citation.
Officers immediately stopped, according to the arrest citation. They contacted the Lexington Police Department’s Bomb Detection Unit, which searched the car and discovered four improvised explosive devices plus three additional handguns.
Carroll had a warrant out for his arrest after he failed to appear in court on a 2019 drug possession charge to which he was expected to plead guilty, according to state and federal court records.
Despite the amount of weaponry Carroll had, UK police wouldn’t speculate on what may have happened if they hadn’t detained him quickly Thursday.
“I can’t comment on what his thought process was,” Monroe said.
Controlled explosions in Versailles neighborhood
In Carroll’s Versailles neighborhood, loud booms could be heard Friday as the FBI and ATF carried out controlled explosions at his house on an otherwise quiet street. Versailles police blocked off streets for the second day.
Several neighbors said Carroll wasn’t well known in the neighborhood, and they were “shocked” or “surprised” by the allegations against Carroll. Carroll lived with his parents.
Neighbors who lived farther away from Carroll said that his closest neighbors had been asked to leave their homes while authorities investigated and detonated explosives.
FBI agents carried four bags away from the site at one point Friday afternoon, but it was unclear what was in them.
The single-story home where Carroll resided is a 2,103-square-foot residence with three bedrooms, according to county property records.
Federal officials said Friday afternoon that there weren’t any updates to disclose on their investigation, and law enforcement would remain at Carroll’s house for the “foreseeable future.”
Carroll’s new and previous Kentucky charges
Carroll was charged at the state level with four counts of third-degree use of a weapon of mass destruction, five counts of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a weapon on school property, according to court records.
He’s also charged with resisting arrest, fleeing from police, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.
An initial federal complaint has also been filed against Carroll for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Carroll had a history of mostly drug-related criminal cases in Woodford, Jessamine and Fayette counties, but most charges were dismissed or reduced. He has not served any significant jail or prison time.
Carroll pleaded guilty to a felony drug trafficking charge for opiates in 2015, according to court records.
Carroll’s 2.5-year prison sentence was probated, according to court records.
Since 2009, Carroll has twice pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree domestic violence assault with minor injuries suffered by the victim, according to court records.
In the second case, Carroll was sentenced to one year in prison but was granted a conditional release after the victim stated she didn’t want Carroll to serve any prison time, according to court records. Carroll later violated a domestic violence order and was ordered to serve his prison time. But he was granted work release.
Jeremy Chisenhall, The Lexington Herald-Leader
