An Ethel man was arrested after police found drugs and a suspected improvised explosive device in his possession during a traffic stop early Monday morning in Winlock, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
At 1:55 a.m. Monday, a deputy stopped a vehicle for having no license plates in the 200 block of Kerron Avenue in Winlock.
The driver, identified as Thomas J. Murphy, 37, of Ethel, was arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended license. A search subsequent to his arrest revealed suspected methamphetamine in his possession and he was arrested on that charge as well.
According to the sheriff’s office, Murphy asked the deputy to get his backpack out of the vehicle before he was taken to the jail. The deputy looked in the backpack and found what appeared to be an improvised explosive device.
The IED comprised “two small cylinders,” each three inches in length with capped ends that were taped together, according to the sheriff’s office. Fuses connected the two cylinders.
The Washington State Patrol Bomb Unit responded and defused the device.
Murphy was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 5:17 a.m., according to jail records. He was booked on suspicion of driving with a suspended license, possession of methamphetamine and possession of an explosive device, according to the sheriff’s office.
