Charges Filed in Clearfield Home Explosion
In Oct. 2019, Downtown Clearfield was rocked by an explosion in a Market Street apartment that killed one woman and left the building destroyed. It was long rumored that the death was drug related and on Aug. 20 it was announced that charges have been filed against Clint Addleman, 47 of Morrisdale and Kris Joseph Nevling, 47, of Houtzdale. Addleman had allegedly threatened the victim regarding several hundred dollars she owed him for methamphetamine. (Photo by Julie Rae Rickard)
By Julie Rae Rickard
CLEARFIELD – After almost five years, charges have been filed in connection to an explosion at a Clearfield home.
In Oct. 2019, a house on Market Street in Downtown Clearfield exploded, causing a fire and the death of one woman.
Since that time, rumors have been circulating in the town as to who was responsible but no arrests were made. The case was turned over to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms for further investigation.
The explosion was thought to be drug related and the rumors turned out to be true.
On Aug. 20, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced that Clint Addleman, 47 of Morrisdale and Kris Joseph Nevling, 47, of Houtzdale had been indicted by a grand jury in Johnstown for the explosion.
Both are charged with conspiracy to maliciously destroy property by explosive or fire and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
Addleman is also charged with malicious destruction of property by explosive or fire resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Addleman is currently in state prison on another drug case.
The indictment states that Addleman was a drug dealer selling large quantities of methamphetamine in the area including to Nevling and the victim in the explosion.
The investigation revealed that Addleman “fronted” or provided several hundred dollars of methamphetamine to her without a payment, according to the press release from the Department of Justice, Western District of Pennsylvania. When she failed to repay him, he threatened her on multiple occasions.
In October 2019, Addleman and Nevling allegedly constructed a bomb which was concealed inside a package addressed to the victim, using her nickname.
It was delivered in the early morning hours of Oct. 4, 2019 to her apartment in a multi-unit property. It exploded later that morning, killing the victim and causing a fire resulting in significant damage to the building and other apartments.
“As alleged, Clint Addleman and Kris Joseph Nevling were responsible for building a bomb that was used to murder one of Addleman’s methamphetamine customers and almost completely leveled the building where she lived,” said U. S. Attorney Olshan.
“This conduct – involving lethal retaliation over nothing more than an outstanding drug debt – shocks the conscience and has no place in our communities or anyone else’s. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our law enforcement partners in our shared commitment to investigate and prosecute those whose conduct presents such a clear and present danger to others, whether in the form of distributing illegal drugs, building and detonating deadly bombs, or, in this case, both.”
The charges could result in a lifetime sentence.
Addleman is no stranger to the justice system and his recent cases in Clearfield County indicate he was an active drug dealer.
In March he was sentenced to serve 42 months to 10 years in state prison by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman for conspiracy/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in one case, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance-methamphetamine in a second case, criminal trespass in a third and burglary in the last case.
According to the affidavit in the first drug case, in May 2023, Addleman who was a known drug dealer at that time, was driving on the east bound on-ramp on Interstate 80 when he was stopped by police who found “numerous large blocks, yellow, blue and pink, in color, suspected to be a large amount of Fentanyl” in the vehicle.
Addleman’s phone reportedly contained messages related to suspected drug activity. A photo on the phone showed a large amount of cash which appeared to be over $50,000 which Addleman claimed was from the sale of his house.
The other drug case involved a drug sale to a confidential informant.
The burglary and criminal trespass charges stem from Addleman’s actions in January and February of 2023.
First Addleman broke into the state police impound lot in Woodland and got into the trunk of a vehicle being held for a pending search warrant. It was later determined he removed two pounds of methamphetamine, five or six ounces of cocaine and 10 grams Fentanyl from the vehicle.
The next month he broke into an impound lot where another vehicle was being held by Clearfield Borough Police. This vehicle had already been searched and the drugs it contained had already been removed.
In addition to these cases, Addleman has pending charges in Clearfield County for intimidating witnesses to a drug overdose that occurred in DuBois in June 2019.
He allegedly prohibited anyone from calling 911 to help the victim and threatened that “he had a guy in place that was going to take care of people who were talking,” according to that affidavit.