Explosives experts removed a homemade bomb found in the back seat of a car early Friday after the driver was stopped for speeding in this eastern Los Angeles suburb, authorities said.
The gunpowder bomb was not connected to a detonator, sheriff’s officials said. Several industrial businesses in the area were evacuated and a main boulevard was closed for more than three hours.
Sheriff’s officials said they did not believe the driver, Dung Nguy, 35, had the bomb for terrorist purposes.
Nguy was arrested on suspicion of possessing a destructive device in public and was jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail, said Lt. Jackie Fabrega of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers pulled Nguy over about 5 a.m. on a traffic violation and spotted a small gray package with exposed wires on the floorboards, Fabrega said.
“The bomb was filled with gunpowder, and the wires were fashioned to be connected to a power source like a battery,” she said. A sawed-off rifle with a homemade silencer and ammunition were also found in the car.
Prosecutors also plan a felony weapons charge, the sheriff’s office said.