CRESCENT CITY, Fla. – The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and federal agents raided the home of a man arrested after a chemical pipe bomb exploded on a deputy during a traffic stop.
Charles Legault, 60, is accused of possessing a chemical pipe bomb that exploded while trafficking methamphetamines. Putnam County deputies and ATF agents raided the property on a track of land off Riveria Drive near Highway 17 in Crescent City.
The property is about 25 miles from where the traffic stop happened Friday on Mosely Avenue in Palatka.
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Investigators said Legault lived in a camper on the property.
Captain Chris Stallings said this is not a typical investigation.
“It’s something I’ve not seen in the 25 years I’ve been doing this. this started as a routine traffic stop on Friday which led to a chemical explosion inside of a vehicle; where drugs were found inside the vehicle which led us to this location,” Stallings said.
Investigators said the explosion came from a homemade chemical pipe bomb. It exploded while a deputy who pulled Legault over was searching his truck for illegal drugs.
The deputy suffered a respiratory injury and was taken to the hospital then later released.
A St. Johns County bomb squad was called in to make sure there were no more explosives in the truck. Investigators later found a pressure valve that was attached to the bomb before the explosion. It had the words “safe” and “armed” handwritten on it.
The St. Johns County bomb unit was also called to the home as a precaution.
“It’s been very slow and methodical when it comes to the potential of explosives, especially chemical. We don’t know what we’re dealing with so we leave it up to the professionals to get the area safe and secured,” Stallings said.
Detectives loaded various pieces of evidence into bags. While it’s unclear if any of the evidence was explosives or material for explosives, investigators confirmed that they recovered an undisclosed amount of illegal drugs believed to be methamphetamines.
The property owner was also taken into custody.
“Some of the evidence that we located for the suspect we have in jail is shared property with the homeowner here,” Stallings said. “Right now, it appears there will be some charges forthcoming on him.”
Legault is facing charges of possessing a bomb, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and illegal possession of an unregistered gun silencer. Investigators also said he will likely face additional drug charges.
He remains in jail without bond because he is reportedly not cooperating with investigators.
Investigators said Legault is not the typical suspect because he has no history of run-ins with police and no social media presence.