Police arrested John McCloskey, 19, of Pleasant Plains, at the intersection of Broad and Canal streets in Stapleton Saturday night.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 19-year-old from Pleasant Plains faces a felony rap after cops say they found him on a Stapleton intersection Saturday night with a homemade explosive device built with gunpowder and nails.
John McCloskey, a Burton Avenue resident, was arrested Saturday after cops responded to reports of a man pacing, sweating and shouting into a cell phone at the intersection of Broad and Canal streets.
Cops approached McCloskey and noticed a bulge under the rear of his jacket.
When he handed cops his backpack, officers say it contained an explosive device, made with gunpowder and wire connecting to metal and nails.
The device was later detonated by members of the NYPD Bomb Squad and McCloskey was placed under arrest.
According to authorities, he said the device was intended as a prank.
The incident drew a large police response.
“Although this defendant claims that the (device) he manufactured was intended as a prank and not to be used, this was clearly a dangerous situation with the capacity to injure many people,” said District Attorney Daniel Donovan in a press release. “There is nothing humorous about attempting to manufacture a bomb, especially when you are using dangerous materials including gunpowder, electrical wires and nails which can cause serious injuries.”
McCloskey is set to be arraigned today in Stapleton Criminal Court on top charge of first-degree criminal possession of a dangerous weapon.
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