TRENTON, Ga. -- A traffic stop in northwest Georgia took a bizarre turn on Monday when a state trooper discovered homemade bombs in the truck he’d just pulled over.
The Dade County Sheriff’s Office released details on the incident on Tuesday while also revealing that those explosives were just the beginning of the strange discoveries authorities made in connection to this routine patrol with a twist.
The stop happened around 7 p.m. at a Circle K convenience store at Highway 136 and Mainstreet in Trenton, Georgia.
During the stop, the state trooper said he found three homemade explosive devices inside the green Ford Ranger. Soon, what began as a routine traffic stop, grew to include the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Dade County Sheriff’s Office and the Trenton Police Department.
It’s not clear what an interview between an agent and the two passengers in the truck uncovered, but whatever it was, the information was enough for officials to obtain a search warrant of the passengers-turned-suspects’ home.
Inside the residence at 35 PeeWee Street, authorities found 10 more explosive devices for a total of 13. All of them were taken by the GBI for safe disposal.
Meanwhile, Robert York and Teshina Bates were taken into custody on 13 counts each of violation of a state law regarding the possession and transportation of explosive devices with the intent to kill, injure or intimidate others – or to blow up public buildings.
Authorities haven’t said why the suspects had the bombs since the investigation is ongoing.
