Mabelvale Man Arrested After Bomb Squad Search Finds Explosive Materials
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: September 20, 2012
A Mabelvale man was arrested on Tuesday after a bomb squad from the Arkansas State Police executed a search warrant at his home.
US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas Christopher Thyer says 52-year-old Michael S. Parker was detained after the search turned up one stick of military-grade dynamite and 14 one-pound high-explosive slurries. A slurry is a commercially available all-purpose weather-resistant emulsion explosive.
A 12-gauge shotgun and .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver were also seized during the search.
Parker was previously convicted on methamphetamine charges, making it illegal for him to possess firearms or explosives.
The search warrant was executed by 30 law enforcement officers from multiple state and local law enforcement agencies including a bomb squad from the Arkansas State Police (ASP) and bomb detection K-9s from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).
"It is a relief to this office, those involved in the search and now the neighbors of the
Mablevale community that these extremely explosive devices were recovered," stated Thyer.
"Just one pound of slurry could destroy a vehicle and everyone in it. The potential damage from
the explosion of fourteen of these would have been devastating."
US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas Christopher Thyer says 52-year-old Michael S. Parker was detained after the search turned up one stick of military-grade dynamite and 14 one-pound high-explosive slurries. A slurry is a commercially available all-purpose weather-resistant emulsion explosive.
A 12-gauge shotgun and .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver were also seized during the search.
Parker was previously convicted on methamphetamine charges, making it illegal for him to possess firearms or explosives.
The search warrant was executed by 30 law enforcement officers from multiple state and local law enforcement agencies including a bomb squad from the Arkansas State Police (ASP) and bomb detection K-9s from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).
"It is a relief to this office, those involved in the search and now the neighbors of the
Mablevale community that these extremely explosive devices were recovered," stated Thyer.
"Just one pound of slurry could destroy a vehicle and everyone in it. The potential damage from
the explosion of fourteen of these would have been devastating."
