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Man arrested with explosive near Norton ballfield

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 7, 2009 12:35 PM

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Norton police arrested a man at gunpoint last night when he allegedly approached a youth baseball game with a powerful explosive in the trunk of his car.

The man, Jason Driscoll, 37, pleaded not guilty today in Attleboro District Court to a charge of possession of an infernal machine. He was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail. Driscoll has a history with explosives and lost his left eye in a pipe bomb blew up in his face as a 16-year-old.

Defense attorney Brian D. Roman described his client's arrest as a misunderstanding.

"From what I've seen so far, it appears to be a firework," Roman said after the arraignment. "These are fairly innocent charges and clearly he didn't have any intent to hurt anyone."

The explosive was described in court as a 3- to 4-inch cardboard tube with wires sticking out of it. Norton police said they learned from a confidential informant that Driscoll had the explosive. Police watched Driscoll, and when he approached the youth baseball game, officers drew their weapons and place him under arrest on South Worcester Street.

The defense said that Driscoll was heading to sandpits near the ballfield to detonate what Roman described as a firework. A State Police bomb squad detonated the explosive on the scene. A hazardous materials team searched Driscoll’s home and found chemicals and bomb-making materials, police said.