Authorities said Monday that a Frederick County man who crashed a gasoline-soaked SUV into a downtown Washington building told them he did so to get the attention of the FBI.
Charles Morrell Ball, 32, of New Market, wore a white jail jumpsuit for his appearance in D.C. Superior Court, where a judge denied him bond and ordered him to remain behind bars on charges of assault with intent to kill while armed as well as arson. A preliminary hearing for Ball was scheduled for June 28.
About 7:30 p.m. Friday, Ball crashed a stolen Jeep SUV into a building at 1050 Connecticut Ave. NW, police said.
A police officer examining the vehicle saw that its gas cap was unscrewed and that a red gas canister with gasoline inside of it was on the rear passenger seat, according to a charging document. The front passenger seat was wet with what smelled like gasoline.
Ball allegedly told police that his family is in danger and he drove the car into the building because he wanted to speak to the FBI. “I did this to get their attention,” he said, according to police.
Authorities said Ball pulled out a lighter and started flicking and igniting the flame, but police took it away.
The Jeep’s owner told a police officer that Ball had left her a voicemail saying there was going to be bloodshed and that he would make people pay for their actions, according to the charging document.
Ball’s lawyer, James Whitehead, argued in court against the charges. Whitehead said nothing burned and lighting a lighter does not necessarily imply an arson attempt. He also said Ball did not have an intention to kill and there is no corroboration to support that the person of the voicemail was actually Ball.
“There’s nothing specific,” Whitehead said about the assault charge.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jin Park, however, said Ball rammed the Jeep “deliberately and intentionally.” Later, she called the incident “utterly extreme.”
Ball was taken to a hospital after the crash.
He is listed in the Maryland Sex Offender Registry for a 2008 third-degree sex offense conviction. The Jeep used in the crash is listed under vehicle information for Ball’s entry in the registry.
