A 50-year-old Arkansas man is facing multiple charges after allegedly igniting an explosion at his ex-wife’s home, just days after threatening to “take” what they had “built” together, according to authorities.
Randall Hamblen has been charged with arson, second-degree battery, aggravated assault, and violating a protective order, according to Garland County jail records. He is currently being held on a $100,000 bond.
According to investigators, the incident occurred on May 20, when Hamblen drove his gold 2003 Dodge 1500 pickup truck to a house on Tallentwood Place in Garland County, a property he had once shared with his now ex-wife. Their divorce had been finalized just 12 days earlier.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by the Hot Springs Sentinel Record describes how a man answered the door and saw Hamblen standing outside. Hamblen reportedly responded, “Oh good, you’re here. Get the dogs out of the house.”
The man then went out through the back door and walked around to the carport, where Hamblen was waiting. Authorities say Hamblen “leaned over” and “ignited something,” after which “a boom went off.” The affidavit did not specify exactly what caused the blast, but both men reportedly suffered burns from the resulting flames.
As investigators looked deeper into Hamblen’s history, a pattern of threats and prior court intervention emerged. In October of the previous year, Hamblen had been served with a court order barring him from contacting his then-estranged wife or going to the Tallentwood Place residence. His ex-wife had told authorities at the time that Hamblen had increased his drinking and threatened to “burn our house down” if she changed the locks.
On Oct. 19, 2025, Hamblen reportedly sent her a text message warning that their divorce would amount to “mutually assured destruction,” and said he was “on the verge of earning the part of me I didn’t want to see” if she refused to speak with him, according to the regional newspaper.
Investigators say Hamblen had been threatening his ex-wife for months leading up to the explosion, at one point vowing to “take what we built” and warning that the two “will burn together.”
It remains unclear whether the woman was inside the home at the time of the blast.