SHEPHERD, Texas – A man is behind bars after San Jacinto County Sheriff deputies arrested him for having a homemade pipe bomb.
The sheriff’s office said Blake Daniel Abbey, 27, was arrested and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, which is a felony offense.
Deputies received a call from a woman at a home in the 400 block of Post Oak Rd., around 6:20 p.m. on Valentine’s Day with reports of a pipe bomb on the property.
When authorities arrived, they said they spoke to Abbey and saw what appeared to be a device inside a detached garage.
San Jacinto County officials said the device was a rifle scope which had the internal parts removed and filled with gunpowder, shrapnel and an electrical wire.
“They were able to locate a pipe bomb inside of a unattached open garage, we contacted Montgomery County bomb squad, they came out and determined it was a viable device, they destroyed that device on the scene,” said Chief Deputy Joe Schultea with the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office. “We can with very high confidence say that this wasn’t a terrorist incident, it may be just an individual for whatever reason decided to build a pipe bomb.”
Deputies arrested Abbey at the home and said no one else was hurt.
Investigators said they did find other weapons inside the home, but wouldn’t specify what they were. All the items are being held by local investigators until the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can begin its investigation.