GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY (WWJ) - A hunch by troopers in Northern Michigan proved right after they conducted a traffic stop on a suspected drug deal and found not only drugs, but firearms and a homemade bomb, officials said.
Michigan State Police said the discovery was made on Wednesday, Sept. 28, shortly before 7 p.m. in Blair Township when troopers in the area saw two trucks, a Ford F-150 and a Dodge Ram, in the parking lot of a local business off Vance Road.
Troopers believed the occupants of the vehicles were engaged in a drug deal and recognized the passenger in a Ford F-150 as a 33-year-old Vincent Patrick Kelly from Buckley.
According to police, Kelly was an absconder on felony probation. He also had a warrant for his arrest.
The Ford truck left the parking lot and troopers pulled then vehicle over on M-37 for a traffic stop. Along with Kelly, troopers said there were three other people in the truck.
Kelly was arrested on the warrant and searched.
According to troopers, Kelly was found carrying "empty baggies containing traces of a white powdery substance that tested positive for methamphetamine along with suboxone strips, a small blue straw, and a homemade explosive device with a fuse."
The driver of the truck, a 34-year-old Traverse City man, and the two other occupants were questioned and then released.
The F-150 was taken to the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office evidence garage, MSP said, and a search warrant was obtained.
Further items were found as police searched the vehicle.
"Inside where Kelly had been seated troopers found a 9mm handgun, ammunition, and brass knuckles," MSP said. "A short barrel shotgun was recovered from the bed of the truck."
Kelly was taken to the Grand Traverse County Jail while the homemade bomb was seized and safely detonated by the MSP Bomb Squad.
The occupants of the other Dodge Ram truck seen in the parking lot by troopers are unknown at this time, MSP added.
Kelly was charged and arraigned on one count Delivery Manufacture Methamphetamine, one count Felony Firearms, and one count Possession Short barreled shotgun.
He was given a $10,000 10% cash surety bond.
Troopers said the case remains under investigation and they expect more charges to come from the Grand Traverse County Prosecutor's Office.