A DUI arrest turned explosive Thursday when an officer investigating a man passed out behind the wheel in the Sheetz parking lot noticed homemade bombs in the car.
The patrolman who responded to the scene at 6600 Perkiomen Ave. around 1:48 a.m. is a Marine who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and immediately recognized the devices as IEDs, said Detective Sgt. Ted Lis.
Patrolman Rocco DeCamillo arrived at the Sheetz in response to a call from a woman who reported seeing a man, identified later as James Michael Zwally, 28, passed out in a car parked near the propane tanks with a child in the passenger seat. DeCamillo found two children, a 5- and 6-year-old, in the vehicle with Zwally, who was found to be under the influence of drugs, Lis said. Zwally was armed and bullets were found in the vehicle, but he had a license to carry, Lis said, so Zwally does not face any charges for the gun.
Drugs were also allegedly found inside the vehicle.
Zwally, who lives near the scene, had been looking after the children and took them to the gas station/convenience store to purchase something to eat before he passed out, police said.
Zwally was arrested for DUI and a parent of the children was called to pick them up, Lis said. While further looking through the vehicle, DeCamillo saw the homemade bombs and immediately removed the children from the car.
Officer Brian Eveland and his K-9 Nitro were on duty and responded to the scene, Lis said, with Nitro confirming that explosives were present in the vehicle.
The Reading Bomb Squad was called to remove the bombs and diffuse them, which required constructing a bunker in a nearby field using sandbags supplied by the Exeter roads department.
‘From what we understand, they would blow up if you lit the fuse,’ said Lis. ‘How dangerous they were in their current state we didn’t really know.’
Lis said there were no large explosions when the bomb squad destroyed the three devices around 3 a.m., but Perkiomen Avenue was shut down temporarily and the Sheetz parking lot was closed off while the scene was cleared.
Police hope to learn why Zwally was in possession of the bombs, but do not believe he had any terroristic intent, despite the incident occurring on Sept. 11.
‘There is no evidence he was threatening anyone or anything,’ said Lis. There is no indication that Zwally intentionally parked near the propane tanks, police said.
Police are continuing their investigation into why Zwally had the bombs. ‘We hope to get answers when we interview him further and learn why he even had them,’ said Lis.
Zwally was taken to Central Processing in Reading Thursday and arraigned on three charges of weapons of mass destruction for each of the bombs, a felony charge of risking a catastrophe, possessing an insturment of crime with intent, three charges of making/selling offensive weapons, two charges of endangering the welfare of children, DUI, two charges of possession of a controlled substance, use or possession of drug paraphernalia and recklessly endangering another person. He was arraigned before Judge Nicholas M. Bentz Jr. Thursday and remanded to Berks County Prison in lieu of $200,000 cash bail.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sept. 24 before Judge Bentz.