Pipe Bomb Leads To Arrest Of Tahlequah Man

The discovery of a pipe bomb over the weekend led to the arrest of a Tahlequah man on Monday.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said it was notified of an explosive device in a rural area near Fort Gibson Lake on Sunday afternoon.

Deputies found the device and called in the Oklahoma Highway Patrol bomb squad and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The team detonated the device, which was constructed of metal pipe and fittings. 

Investigators used a merchandise code on one of the fittings to trace it to a Tahlequah hardware store. They say that led them to the suspect, 26-year-old Jacob Duncan, of Tahlequah, on Monday.

The sheriff's office said Duncan admitted to that he had purchased the pipe and fittings and constructed several explosive devices, including the explosive device that was detonated on Sunday.

The sheriff's office said investigators got a search warrant  for Duncan's home. Deputies, ATF agents and Tahlequah police officers found three more explosive devices, bomb-making materials, several methamphetamine labs and three explosive devices that had already been detonated, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies arrested Duncan on felony complaints of possession and manufacture of an explosive device, endeavoring to manufacture methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony.