Fowl play: Taxidermied duck blown up in Joliet

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Updated: January 29, 2012 8:17AM

JOLIET — Stuffed duck may have graced several holiday tables, but only one was offered as entertainment with enough explosives to warrant a criminal investigation.

Police say the taxidermed waterfowl was destroyed and two houses were damaged at a Dec. 4 party in the Cumberland subdivision.

Police were called the following day when siding damage was discovered on residences in the 1800 block of Mandan Village Drive, Lt. Joe Egizio said.

“Investigators learned about the party and reports of the explosion,” Egizio said. “They recovered the remnants of a taxidermied duck and a duck call from a large hole in the sod of the backyard.”

In the following weeks, detectives interviewed several party guests to learn what happened, a difficult task since many were drinking the night the duck was destroyed.

Detectives questioned Joseph T. Bundy, 35, of Aurora, on Monday. Bundy told police he had found the duck in the street when he arrived for the festivites.

“He admitted he’d also brought a large firework and decided to blow up the duck for entertainment,” Egizio said. “But he underestimated the power of the firework.”

Bundy was charged with illegal possession of fireworks and released on bond.

As long as Bundy makes restitution to the people whose houses were damaged, the city will not prosecute the case as a criminal violation.