A Columbus man is accused of manufacturing explosives after police say they found improvised explosive devices in his vehicle during a traffic stop on the city’s South Side, according to a criminal complaint.
The suspect, a 29-year-old from the Southeast Side whom The Dispatch is not naming, is charged with unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance, a second-degree felony.
The criminal compaint states that a Columbus police officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle the man was in Oct. 2 in the 300 block of East Welch Avenue east of South 8th Avenue in Merion Village. During the traffic stop, the officer noticed the explosive devices in the vehicle and believed they were IEDs, according to the complaint.
The detective did not say in the complaint exactly how many explosives were found in the vehicle. A Columbus police spokesman could not immediately reached for comment.
Columbus police contacted the Columbus Division of Fire bomb squad and the Columbus Fire and Explosives Investigations Unit for help. After testing the devices, the bomb squad found that the devices were IEDs made with fireworks parts and black powder, according to the complaint.
The suspect has a court appearance scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 4, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man found with explosives in vehicle during traffic stop, police say
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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