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The incident began on March 5, when a Lake Carmel woman called Town of Kent Police to report an issue with her vehicle. When officers arrived they found screws thrown around the woman's driveway and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device (IED) on top of her vehicle, said Chief Alex DiVernieri.
Officers contacted the Putnam County Sheriff's Office who dispatched a K-9 capable of detecting explosives. The dog checked the device and indicated it was positive for explosives, DiVernieri said.
Officers then contacted the Westchester County Bomb Squad who responded to the scene. Bomb Squad members rendered the device safe and collected the evidence, he added.
Two days earlier the tires on the woman's vehicle were slashed and James Schrull, 49, was found at the scene.
After finding the IED, officers responded to Schrull's residence to interview him about the IED and screws. Schrull denied any involvement, DiVernieri said.
A piece of the IED was examined by the sheriff's office for latent prints, but none were found. The device was then sent to the New York State Crime Lab for DNA analysis. The analysis came back which showed that Schrull's DNA was found on the device, the chief said.
On Tuesday, Deg. Sgt. Gerald Locascio and Det. Ray Beauchesne responded to Schrull's residence and placed him under arrest for criminal possession of a weapon.
He was arraigned in from of Kent Town Justice J. Peter Collins and remanded to the Putnam County Jail on $5,000 cash/$10,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, Oct. 30.
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