A 43-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after detonating an explosive device during a 2025 parking lot dispute with a motorcycle club, which injured a restaurant employee and damaged a nearby building.
Gregory E. Simonds Jr., 43, of Pensacola, Florida, has been sentenced for arson by ‘means of an explosive’ causing personal injury. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence.
The conviction stems from an incident on February 15, 2025, in Fort Walton Beach. According to court documents, Simonds became involved in an altercation with a group of individuals associated with the Pagans Motorcycle Club in the parking lot of the Emerald Coast Harley Davidson on Beal Parkway.
During the dispute, Simonds detonated an explosive device. The blast caused physical damage to an adjacent Jimmy John’s restaurant building and caused injuries to one of the restaurant’s employees.
Simonds drove away from the scene immediately after the explosion, but law enforcement officers identified and arrested him shortly afterward. A search of his vehicle yielded four additional explosive devices, two firearms, narcotics, drug paraphernalia, and an Outlaws Motorcycle Club vest.
Federal agents later executed a search warrant at Simonds’ residence. Inside the home, investigators seized further explosive devices, bomb-making materials and equipment, and additional evidence indicating that Simonds was actively manufacturing and selling explosives.
“This case could certainly have ended much differently. When someone chooses to use an explosive device in a public place, they put innocent lives at risk,” said Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden. “I’m proud of the outstanding work of our investigators, in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF, and FDLE, in building a case that led to this sentence.”
The final sentence was secured through a joint investigation conducted by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives Investigations provided assistance. Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes handled the prosecution of the case.
“This successful prosecution is the result of the close coordination between our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, who swiftly identified and caught this dangerous criminal so my office could bring him to justice,” U.S. Attorney Heekin said. “Through Operation Take Back America, the Department of Justice is devoting its full might toward protecting our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, like this defendant, and my office will continue to aggressively prosecute anyone who threatens the safety of our citizens.”
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