Terkhorn gets probation for home explosion at home

Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 29, 2005

An Ironton man accused of setting off an explosion that damaged his house earlier this year will spend six months in a group home and then five years probation after pleading guilty Wednesday to some of the charges against him.

Todd Terkhorn, 23,of

1747 Karin St., pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated arson as well as two counts of assault on a peace officer stemming from another incident months later at the Lawrence County Jail.

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Terkhorn must complete six months of in-house treatment at the Peaceful Dove Group Home in Otway and must take all of his medication as prescribed.

Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Richard Walton further ordered Terkhorn to make restitution to the insurance company that paid for the damages to Terkhorn’s residence.

Ironton firefighters were called to the Karin Street residence in late May after Terkhorn called and admitted he set fire to his house. Authorities also recovered components for a second explosive device from a car parked at the residence. While in jail awaiting conclusion of his case, he was involved in a scuffle at the jail with two corrections officers who were injured in the incident.

A psychological evaluation conducted this summer concluded that while Terkhorn was suffering from a mental problem at the time of the incident, he still may have understood the consequences of his actions.The evaluation stated that Terkhorn suffers from a, “severe mental disorder” but that he “did know the difference between right and wrong.”