Authorities say a 28-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with a pair of explosive devices reported in College Park over the past week.
John Frank Jenkins of the 9000 block of Rhode Island Ave. was charged with two felony counts of manufacturing or possessing a destructive device, Prince George's County Fire Deparment spokesman Mark Brady said.
The arrest follows the discovery on Friday of a "potential hazardous device" in the 5000 block of Edgewood Road. According to Brady, information developed after Tuesday's pipe bomb incident on 48th Ave. led investigators to a home there around 4 a.m.
When officials found a suspicious package in a van associated with the residence, the Prince George's County Bomb Squad was called in to defuse the device, Brady said. The area around the vehicle was cordoned off and several homes evacuated as emergency personnel completed their work.
At around 10:30 a.m., law enforcement officials executed a related search warrant at a home in the 9000 block of Rhode Island Ave. Jenkins, who reportedly resides at the address, was taken into custody. A female occupant was also arrested on an unrelated warrant.
Investigators have not established a forensic connection between Tuesday's explosion and the device found on Friday, Brady said, but authorities believe the two are linked. No hazardous devices were discovered at the second address.
Each count of manufacturing or possessing a destructive device carries a penalty of up to 25 years and/or a fine of $250,000. Additional charges are still possible as the investigation continues, Brady said.
"The successful mitigation of this dangerous activity is a result of an around the clock investigation by our the Office of the Fire Marshal and the cooperation of the county police and federal partners," PGFD Fire Chief Marc Bashoor said in a statement.
The Prince George's County Police Department; the City of Annapolis Bomb Squad; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are all assisting in the investigation, Brady said.
