GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man arrested last year with four Molotov cocktails was sentenced Tuesday before a district judge in Grand Rapids and will be facing five years in prison.
In Oct. 2025, 53-year-old James Steven Cleland was arrested in Kent County by Michigan State Police who found the homemade explosives in his car after initially pulling him over for driving an unregistered vehicle.
Feds: Man faces charges related to possession of Molotov cocktails
Officers soon discovered that Cleland was already the subject of a federal investigation and had told an informant that he planned to use Molotov cocktails to burn down two Grand Rapids businesses.
He was arrested by MSP on charges of preparation to burn property and was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Court documents say that Cleland received this sentencing due to his extensive criminal background that included 20 prior criminal convictions between the ages of 17 and 51…