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Deputies: Weapons Charge Added In Suspected Pipe Bomb Case

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

Deputies sent a robot in to check on this vehicle after a suspected pipe bomb was found Thursday afternoon.

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TBO.com

Published: March 12, 2009

Updated: 03/13/2009 09:37 am

William Franklin Pennypacker

ODESSA - A weapons charge has been added against a man arrested Thursday night after a suspected pipe bomb and guns were found in his vehicle, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said this morning.

William Franklin Pennypacker, 60, initially was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident, the sheriff's office said. He also now faces a charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

Pennypacker was arrested after deputies responded to reports of a drunk driver.

The Tampa Bay Regional Bomb Squad used a clay shotgun on a remotely controlled robot to blast the suspected pipe bomb. No explosive material was found in the device.

The Florida Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the scene, a Hess gas station at Gunn Highway and State Road 54. Portions of Gunn and S.R. 54 temporarily were shut down as a precaution.

Also found in Pennypacker's Ford Bronco were a loaded .38-caliber handgun, an SKS rifle, a Ruger rifle, a scope and numerous types of ammunition.

Pennypacker's driver's license lists his address as 1610 Reynolds Road, #40, in Lakeland, but he reportedly lives in the Odessa area.

The investigation continues.

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