Police discover pipe bomb during routine traffic stop
By
Posted 1:36PM on Tuesday, August 13, 2002
ALMA - A Charleston, South Carolina, man has been arrested on explosive and weapon charges after police discovered a homemade pipe bomb inside the cab of his pickup truck. <br>
<br>
Alma police found the pipe bomb and a loaded .22-caliber pistol when they stopped 24-year-old Donny Avery Sellars early Sunday for weaving on the roadway and making improper lane changes. <br>
<br>
The bomb, which was fashioned from a six-inch piece of galavanized pipe, was powerful enough to destroy an autombile. <br>
<br>
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, Bill Butler, said -- quote -- ``If it had exploded, it would have destroyed the truck and sent shrapnel possibly killing or severely injuring anyone within about a 300-foot area.'' <br>
<br>
The downtown area was closed while a team of G-B-I technicians disarmed the bomb. <br>
<br>
Butler said there is no indication the bomb is connected to any terrorist activity. Police believe Sellars made it himself and are not anticipating any additional arrests. <br>
<br>
Alma police said Sellars is being held at the Bacon County jail, charged with possessing and transporting a destructive device, and carrying a concealed weapon. He faces three to 20 years in prison and up to a 25-thousand dollar fine. <br>
<br>
Sellars had been traveling through Alma on his way to Charleston, South Carolina. Alma, with a population of 35-hundred, is about 60 miles northwest of Brunswick.