Quebec man tells judge he set off homemade explosives for social media fame, money

A man from the Quebec City area will be sentenced on Friday for negligent use of explosives after admitting that he performed the stunts to boost his views on social media in order to make money. 

Dominic Pelletier, 43, was arrested back in February at his home in Stoneham, Que., following a police investigation into videos on Facebook and TikTok showing him creating increasingly large explosions by blowing up various objects. 

Quebec provincial police searched Pelletier’s home and seized pipe bombs, propane tanks, burned aerosol cans, as well as ammunition. 

Pelletier has now pleaded guilty, explaining that he was unemployed at the time and was trying to get online attention so he could monetize the videos.

The prosecution and defence lawyers proposed a one-year community sentence for Pelletier, leaving Judge Steve Magnan puzzled.

“How old are you?” Magnan asked, despite knowing the answer. The judge remarked that the notion of making money this way would have been inexplicable for an 18-year-old, “but at 43,” he said, leaving the thought unfinished.

Magnan told the defendant that what he did potentially endangered his life and those of others. 

“I was reckless,” Pelletier admitted, who is now working full time and asserts that he has taken control of his life.

Magnan noted that one of the requirements for allowing someone to serve their sentence in the community is to ensure they do not pose a threat to society. 

After hearing the proposal negotiated between the prosecution and defence lawyers, the judge decided to take the case under advisement.

Magnan will announce on Friday whether or not Pelletier will be allowed to serve his sentence in the community.