NEWS

Prank at Green Hills theater leads to felony charge

Adam Tamburin
atamburin@tennessean.com

A Monday night prank at the Green Hills movie theater wound up sending one man to jail on a felony charge of making an explosive, according to police.

Police said in a statement that Sean M. Pounds spread a chemical compound on the ground outside the theater that made a loud popping sound when people walked over it. Security staff noticed Pounds around 8:30 p.m. and called police.

The police department's Hazardous Device Unit responded alongside the Nashville Fire Department. Their investigation revealed the compound would not hurt anyone, but that it had "real potential to instill fear and panic," according to the statement.

No one was evacuated, but many moviegoers and shoppers at The Mall at Green Hills took to social media to swap theories about the ruckus.

Officers interviewed Pounds, 35, at his home, where he admitted to making the compound. He told the officers he had planned to stay close by and watch people's reaction when they heard the loud pops, according to the statement.

Pounds told the officers he had done the same thing at Vanderbilt University earlier in the year. He said he didn't know he was breaking the law.

Pounds agreed to let officers search his home. They found and seized chemicals used to make the compound, according to the statement.

His bond was set at $5,000.