Car Found With Pipe Bomb And Shotguns In New Haven

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Two men were arrested when police found a pipe bomb, two shotguns, bomb-making materials, ammunition, a can of propane and SWAT costumes in their car Tuesday night in New Haven, Conn.

So far the police don’t have a clear sense of what the pair were planning to do, New Haven Police spokesman Officer Joe Avery told TPM.

“They’re not talking much,” Avery said.

Police received a call just before midnight about a suspicious car with weapons on the backseat, he said. Police surrounded the car, a Mercedes, and pulled the two men out. A bomb squad detonated the pipe bomb.

The men, John Iannucci, 38, of Branford, Conn., and Jessup Bollinger, 27, of New Haven, were charged with the manufacture of bombs, illegal possession of explosives, illegally transporting explosives and having a shotgun in a vehicle. Bollinger was also charged with criminal possession of a firearm. The two are being held on $500,000 bond each, said New Haven Police spokesman Officer Joe Avery, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is also investigating.

The New Haven Register has reported that one of the men was arrested earlier this year for making a bomb, and his case is still pending in Superior Court.

Avery could not confirm the report.

In February, that man was allegedly driving when a homemade bomb exploded, injuring his hands and torso. Police searched his home and found equipment for modifying smoke bombs and arrested him in March.

Late update: Court records show that a John Iannucci, also born in 1970, is facing charges for the illegal manufacture of bombs and explosives. His pre-trial is set for Oct. 22. He has plead not guilty to the charges.

Correction: The original story had Jessup Bollinger’s name spelled incorrectly.

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