The Royse City Herald-Banner reports that a 46-year-old Royse City man was arrested late Saturday night after officers found a pipe bomb in his vehicle on FM 35, about a half mile south of FM 2642.
Royse City Police Chief Jeff Stapleton said Gregory Bostick of Royse City was arrested for possessing the explosive device. The police chief said Bostick was released from Hunt County Jail Sunday morning after posting bond.
The Garland Police Department Bomb Squad did not risk moving the pipe bomb from the floor board of the man's small SUV. Instead, Stapleton said, they chose to detonate the bomb – in place – inside the vehicle.
Residents of two homes within 300 yards of the bomb scene were evacuated. Traffic also was blocked on FM 2642 north of the scene and at an undetermined location south of the scene.
The events began to unfold when Sgt. Nick Dial of the Royse City Police Department noticed a suspicious vehicle pulling onto FM 35 from a Hunt County road. Dial became concerned about the vehicle because it was late at night – about 11 p.m. – and the county road is unimproved and leads to a remote area off FM 35.
Dial stopped the vehicle in the 7000 block of FM 35 after learning that the license plates had expired. The vehicle was occupied by Bostick, the driver, and an unidentified woman who later was released.
While Dial had Bostick outside his vehicle, a Rockwall County Sheriff's Office deputy arrived. The deputy spotted what appeared to be a pipe bomb on the floor board of the vehicle.
The Garland Police Department Bomb Squad was then notified. The bomb was detonated between 1 and 1:30 a.m.
Stapleton said officers have not determined why the suspect had the bomb.
Because of the unknown, the police chief, if Dial had not stopped the vehicle "it could have gone bad real quick.
"A device like that is for nothing more than causing harm," Stapleton said.
A shotgun also was found in the vehicle, according to Stapleton.
The incident occurred on the Hunt County side of the city limits of Royse City.
The investigation is being handled by the Royse City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).