Utah pageant winner accused of throwing bombs

AP

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A young beauty pageant winner in the U.S. is accused of throwing makeshift explosives from a car.

Kendra McKenzieGill — recent crowned Miss Riverton, Utah — and three others were arrested Saturday after allegedly throwing the homemade bombs at least nine times.

Police said they admitted buying plastic bottles, aluminum foil and household chemicals before assembling the devices.

"They were throwing them at both property and people," Unified Fire Authority Capt. Clint Mecham told KUTV-TV, adding that nobody was injured. "This goes well beyond a teenage prank."

Gill, who was 18 at the time of her June 8 pageant win, was booked on suspicion of detonating an incendiary device. She didn't appear on the Salt Lake County jail roster Monday morning, and no phone number for her was listed.

It wasn't immediately clear if any of the four had an attorney.

Gill defeated eight other beauty contestants earlier this summer, showing off her years of piano training with a Scott Joplin number and taking home a $2,000 scholarship.

Representatives for the Miss Riverton and Miss Utah pageants, which are preliminary competitions for the Miss America contest, didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.

About 40,000 people live in Riverton, which is 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.