2 Charged With Possessing Homemade Explosive Devices

TRENTON, GA -- Two Dade County residents have been charged with possessing several homemade explosive devices, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday. Officers became aware of theses alleged crimes when a Georgia state trooper conducted a traffic stop around 7 p.m. Dec. 4 on a Ford Ranger pickup truck at the Circle K convenience store on Main Street in Trenton.

The trooper unearthed three homemade explosive devices inside the truck, and the GBI, the Dade County Sheriff's Office and Trenton Police Department all began a joint investigation, the state agency said.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Robert C. York, 56, and the passenger was Teshina R. Bates, 36, both of Trenton. A search warrant was obtained and executed at York's residence on PeeWee Street in Trenton where officers found 10 more explosive devices, the GBI added. These homemade items were transported to a secure location and destroyed.

York and Bates are each charged with 13 counts of possessing, transporting, receiving explosives or destructive devices with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate individuals or destroy public buildings.

"The motivations, intentions, and/or reasons for the possession of the explosive devices, is still under investigation, and no further information on that subject will be released at this time," the Dade County Sheriff's Office said on its Facebook page.

Anyone with information on the case should call the GBI office in Calhoun at 706-624-1424,
Dade County Sheriff’s Office at 706-657-3233, or the Trenton Police Department at 706-657-4167.

Photo: Teshina Bates and Robert York. Credit: Dade County Sheriff's Office