Court papers reveal more about explosives found in a Weatherly home
May 11—Court papers say a Weatherly man arrested Saturday for possessing explosives had a 12-inch long bomb on him inside a borough store on May 1.
Anthony Petrone, 28, also admitted to making other bombs when Weatherly police took him into custody Saturday, as they served a search warrant at his home, 305 First St., that day with the Pennsylvania State Police Hazardous Device and Explosives Section. Law enforcement said they recovered explosives and bomb-making materials at his house.
Petrone faces felonies for two counts weapons of mass destruction and three counts risking a catastrophe. He was also charged with misdemeanors for two counts offensive weapons and three counts reckless endangerment. Petrone was committed to the Carbon County Correctional Facility in Nesquehoning after Magisterial District Judge Joseph Homanko, Weatherly, denied him bail, citing he was a threat to society.
Court papers revealed more details on the investigation.
According to arrest papers:
Weatherly police found Petrone wearing a backpack at the checkout counter at Dollar General, 20 W. Main St., on May 1. Petrone spoke with an officer as he walked out of the store, and because the officer knew Petrone carried and used drugs in the past, he asked to look inside his backpack. Petrone denied having drugs but he didn't mention the 12-inch long and 1 1/2 inch diameter homemade explosive he was carrying. The device was wrapped in black tape with hot glue plugging each end and had a long fuse.
The officer seized the device and placed it in an open field until the state police Hazardous Device and Explosives Section arrived at 10:55 a.m. Troopers found the device could have caused property damage and was capable of causing injury or death to those near it. A Federal Bureau of Investigation agent told Weatherly police these types of explosives are "extremely dangerous" and can detonate by friction.
An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found the device was the largest homemade "M type" he saw in his career. The craftsmanship of the device also showed that law enforcement were dealing with someone experienced in bomb making, according to the agent.
Weatherly police served a search warrant at his home on Saturday at 6:15 a.m. with the state police bomb section finding bomb making materials to include a grinder with aluminum powder, a white powder in a Gatorade bottle with two fuses in it, Goex black powder, additional aluminum powder and several pieces of explosive devices. Troopers removed the materials safely.
Petrone was brought to the police station telling officers he learned how to make explosives from a friend and forgot the explosive was in his backpack on May 1 when police found it, though he later told police he got a new backpack and moved it from his old one into his new one.
He said he ordered supplies over the internet and had them shipped to his home. Asked if he was responsible for the explosions in town over the past year, Petrone said, "No," though he admitted he may have lit one or two of his devices in his backyard.
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