Police Make Arrest After Pipe Bomb Found In Woonsocket Apartment

WOONSOCKET, RI – A 22-year-old former resident of a Morin Heights apartment complex is facing felony charges after Woonsocket police said he turned himself in while being sought in connection to a pipe bomb discovered in a vacant unit on Thursday. Police said Jan Carlos Martinez-Lopez, 22, is charged with crimes that could lead to up to 20 years in prison.

Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas Oates told reporters Thursday afternoon that the four- to six-inch device was discovered in the unit that morning. Police and Rhode Island Bomb Squad personnel were called into investigate and remove the device while about 50 people were evacuated from nearby residences.

Oates said it could not be determined initially whether it included explosives — leading to some reports it might have been a hoax — but that tests back at the State Fire Marshal’s office concluded it did. Oates said the pipe bomb included a wick that would have had to have been manually lit.

"It was determined it was an explosive device that could have gone off," Oates told reporters. "We have enough evidence to charge him with this offense."

Oates said that while the Martinez-Lopez was a former resident of the apartment, determining a motive is part of the ongoing investigation. He did not specific the exact charge during the press briefing.