Homemade bomb found inside man’s car in Sandy

Sandy, Utah — According to police, a possible “homemade destructive device” was found during a search of a man’s car as it was sitting outside a Sandy home last month.

On Friday a 48-year-old James Robert Kelley, 48, was arrested on multiple charges Friday, including one count of possession of an explosive device, two counts of forgery, and one count of possession of another person’s identification documents.

A Sandy police officer was sent on June 29 to a home in the area of the 9300 South block of 1200 East for a call of an unwanted person sitting in a white Mitsubishi Mirage, according to charging documents.

When the police arrived on the scene found Kelley and two others, a man and woman, sleeping in the car. A K-9 brought in to search the vehicle indicated illegal narcotics were inside. An officer found a glass jar in the car that later tested positive for methamphetamine, several syringes, and a broken glass pipe.

Officers also found what the documents said appeared to be a “makeshift bomb detonator” and a piece of paper that included the notes, “turn the cellphone on,” “proximity,” and what the police called “other odd verbiage.”

Multiple bomb squads, along with the FBI, arrived at the location to investigate and found a handheld device that the report says contained wiring, a power source, and a possible switch. The unit said they believed “the device to be consistent with a possible homemade destruction device.”

After being taken to Alta View Hospital, Kelley refused to talk to a detective, saying he had “dementia” and needed medication.