Bomb squad detonates 'suspicious materials'
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on June 18, 2010 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/DENNIS HILL
An explosives expert is outfitted in a bomb-proof suit before entering a house on East Holly Street on Thursday afternoon to remove what investigators later called "pipe bombs." The SBI and the state Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, along with Goldsboro police and the Goldsboro Fire Department, responded to the alarm, which came after police discovered the devices during an arrest of a man for assault.
The State Bureau of Investigation's bomb squad performed controlled detonations of at least four explosives after a search of a man's home on East Holly Street on Thursday afternoon.
The explosives involved appeared to be "pipe bombs," and were found after an investigation into the sexual assault of a juvenile, Goldsboro police Sgt. Chad Calloway said this morning.
Darrell Rodriguez Taylor, 29, of 1601 E. Holly Street, faces charges for both the explosives and the alleged second-degree sexual assault of a female juvenile under the age of 18, Calloway said.
Throughout the afternoon, an SBI Bomb Squad Truck was parked in the lot in front of the Goldsboro Housing Authority Service Center near Jefferson and Beech streets.
Multiple blocks form North Jefferson's intersection with Maple and Beech streets to Holly Street's intersection with North Andrews Street had been blocked off with orange cones and manned patrol cars.
A type of bomb-searching robot had been deployed, and a bomb squad member, who was dressed in a green flak jacket, complete with helmet, searched Taylor's residence for explosives.
Around 4:26 and 4:38 p.m., bomb squad members loudly shouted "fire in the hole" followed by controlled detonations of the devices.
Calloway said early into the investigation of the sexual assault, Taylor's alleged possession of a sawed-off shotgun and explosives devices came to investigators' attention.
The police sergeant said he had not been briefed on the exact type of explosives, but had seen some of the charges.
"Well, not being an expert in any way, shape or form, which is why the (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms) and the SBI bomb squad was there, just from appearance, I would call it a pipe bomb of some type," Calloway said.
Michele Nation, a nearby neighbor who lives on North Andrews Avenue, said her husband, Roy Nation Jr., had helped the suspect, Taylor, with a vehicle a few days earlier.
"Yeah, he said he ran out of gas a few blocks away, and we helped him push his truck down to (his house)," Mrs. Nation said.
Taylor was jailed under a $250,000 bond and has a first court appearance scheduled this Monday, according to police records.