Authorities arrested a 30-year-old man on a misdemeanor charge Thursday and found that he had a pipe bomb, the Saline County sheriff’s office said.
Joshua Michael Thacker of Bauxite was walking near a highway in the Haskell area when an officer stopped to investigate his activities, according to an arrest report. Authorities took Thacker into custody on a charge of obstructing governmental operations. Once in the patrol car, the 30-year-old told officers that he had a pipe bomb in his backpack.
Law enforcement confirmed that the man had “an improvised explosive device” and closed U.S. 67 and Arkansas 229, nearby businesses and the Harmony Grove School District, according to the report. Authorities said Thursday that the Little Rock Fire Department conducted a controlled detonation of the bomb.
The Saline County sheriff’s office said it was not releasing any further information about the incident.
Authorities did not find any other explosive devices and do not think Thacker has any other devices stored, Saline County Lt. Joe Traylor said.
“We have no indication that there’s any threat to the public at this point,” Traylor said.
Thacker was being held in the Saline County jail Friday on a felony charge of criminal possession of explosives, a felony charge of impairing operation of a vital public facility, a misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental operations, and several misdemeanor charges of failure to appear, an online inmate roster showed.
He was set to appear in court at 10 a.m. Friday to receive his bond sentencing, according to a news release.