Fort Stewart GI jailed for placing explosive in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE -- A soldier from Fort Stewart, Ga., has been arrested on charges of planting an explosive device on a dirt road in northeastern Florida, police said Thursday.

Spc. Derek Lawrence Peterson, 27, was being held on $5 million bond at the Jacksonville Pretrial Detention Center.

"He was a soldier on leave, playing soldier," said Jacksonville Sheriff's Detective Larry Johns, who is investigating the case. Peterson told arresting officers that he was in the isolated area to "practice recon tactics."