A bottle rocket thrown from a moving car exploded near a West South Street yard in Greenfield last August, and the fallout has now wound through Hancock Superior Court 1 to a pair of felony sentences. Chelsea Nicole Adair, 19, and Clint Michael Mullins, 47, were both sentenced on Level 5 felony counts of possession of a destructive device after police say the incident led them to a traffic stop loaded with firearms and materials for making explosives.
What Happened on West South Street
According to The Daily Reporter, Greenfield police were called to the residence on Aug. 10, 2025, after a report that a woman had thrown a bottle rocket into a front yard. Police video reportedly showed an item tossed from a vehicle landing near the sidewalk at the property's northeast corner, where it appeared to smoke before exploding, while the bottle itself came to rest in a flower bed near the northwest corner. Witnesses told officers that Adair was the one who threw the item and that Mullins was driving the vehicle, the paper reported.
Officers traced the vehicle to Mullins and pulled the pair over during a traffic stop at 990 South State Street, per the same account. Inside, police said they discovered precursors for explosive-making packed into a wooden box in the rear hatch, along with multiple firearms stored in a brown gun bag. An ammunition crate in the vehicle reportedly held an assortment of powder containers with handwritten labels, cardboard tubing, plastic end caps, and cotton-wick fuses.
What the Pair Told Officers
Mullins told officers that two rifle uppers and a lower receiver were also in the vehicle, and that it contained firework powders along with compositions used for reloading ammunition, the station's report states. He said a firecracker had been placed inside a plastic bottle, telling officers, “we dunked it in there and it went boom.” Mullins also said a woman had insulted him or his vehicle in front of Adair, and that he lit the firecracker and threw it out the window himself, per the same account.
Adair gave her own version to police, saying she threw the device out the window to scare one of the women involved after an earlier argument, telling officers “threw that thing out the window.” She reportedly said the idea to throw the improvised device was hers, and that she knew a firecracker sealed inside a bottle would explode. Adair also told officers she understood the device would not produce shrapnel but would create a loud bang, the article notes.
Charges, Verdicts and Pleas
Mullins was originally charged with a Level 2 felony count of possession of a destructive device or explosive, a Level 5 felony count on the same allegation, and a Level 6 felony count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction, according to the report. At trial, he was found guilty of the Level 5 felony but acquitted of the more serious Level 2 charge. He separately admitted guilt to a Level 6 felony count of operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance in his system.
Adair faced a Level 2 felony count of possession of a destructive device or explosive and a Level 5 felony count on the same charge. Under a plea agreement, she admitted guilt to the Level 5 felony count of possession of a destructive device, the outlet reported.
How the Sentences Break Down
Judge D.J. Davis sentenced Mullins to four years on the Level 5 felony, with two years suspended, and ordered that term to run consecutively with an 872-day sentence on the Level 6 felony, which is being served at the county jail, per the report. Mullins received credit for 436 actual days served plus 436 days of good-time credit, applied to the Level 6 sentence, which the paper notes is now recorded as time served. His overall sentence calls for two years through Hancock County Jail and two years in community corrections, with two years suspended to probation; he was released from jail after being held since his August 2025 arrest and must undergo weekly testing through community corrections for at least three months.
Adair was sentenced to 1,095 days with the Indiana Department of Correction, with 537 days executed and 558 days suspended to formal probation. Her probation terms require her to report immediately to Talitha Koum Women's Recovery House and remain there for a minimum of 185 days. According to an earlier Daily Reporter report, Adair is also barred from any contact with Mullins for the duration of her sentence.
