Home of Roswell ‘chicken man' facing eviction explodes

ROSWELL, Ga. — The home of a Roswell man who has spent years fighting to keep chickens on his property exploded Monday.

Andrew Wordes, known around town as the "chicken man," was first cited in 2009 for raising chickens in a residential area. A judge ruled in Wordes' favor, but another judge later disagreed.

Wordes spent three months in the Roswell Detention Center last year after a judge revoked his probation for city code violations on his property. When he was released, he said the home was ransacked and several high-powered weapons were stolen.

Matters then turned for the worst, and Wordes was facing eviction. He and his lawyers were seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the foreclosure.

Channel 2's Mike Petchenik went to Wordes' home on Alpine Drive, where Fulton County Marshals were gathered outside for the eviction Monday. Wordes told Petchenik he was scheduled for a court appearance that morning on a traffic citation but feared Marshals would repossess his home while he was gone, so he didn't go.

Wordes called Petchenik and asked him to tell the Marshals to leave the property because it "wasn't going to be pretty." Then, the home exploded.

"I appreciate everything, brother. I appreciate everything you've done," he told Petchenik before the explosion.

The Roswell Fire Department confirmed there was a body in the home but have not said whether it is Wordes.

After the fire was cleared, a bomb squad was called back to the home because a potentially explosive device was found.

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WSBTV