Jeffrey Dean Daily, 44, of Gaffney, South Carolina, stood before a federal judge Wednesday and admitted to planting and detonating homemade bombs at two car washes — acts of destruction that terrorized small-town businesses and lit a fuse under public safety in Cherokee County.
Daily pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Anderson to one count of using an explosive device to damage a building, a federal offense under Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(i). The charge stems from two separate attacks: the first on October 1, 2014, when he blew up part of the Chesnee Car Wash, and a second, bolder strike on July 6, 2015, against the Oasis Car Wash in Gaffney.
At the change of plea hearing, prosecutors presented evidence showing Daily’s fingerprints on materials matching the devices used in both blasts. On July 17, 2015, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his home and discovered bomb-making components, along with a live, unexploded device — fully assembled and stored in the bed of his truck.
The investigation, led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), pulled in local agencies including the Gaffney Police Department, Chesnee Police Department, Cherokee County and Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Offices, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Their combined work built a forensic trail that left no room for denial.
Daily now faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years in federal prison, with a maximum sentence of 20 years. U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Cain accepted the plea but withheld sentencing until the U.S. Probation Office completes a presentence report. No date has been set.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Max Cauthen, handling the prosecution from the Greenville U.S. Attorney’s Office, called the case a clear threat to community safety. ‘This wasn’t vandalism,’ Cauthen said. ‘This was calculated violence with explosives — one spark away from mass casualties.’
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Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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