Police Arrest Man in Possession of Incendiary Device

West Chicago, Illinois: January 3, 2008 – On Tuesday January 1, 2008 at approximately 9:04 a.m., a West Chicago Police officer observed a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of a business located in the 1000 block of West Roosevelt Road in West Chicago. The officer made contact with the sole occupant of the vehicle, found to be 40-year old David H. Watts Jr.

Mr. Watts was ultimately transported via ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of issues present prior to the time the officer had contact with him. While securing Mr. Watts' vehicle, the officer smelled a strong odor of gasoline and noticed a bottle in the rear of the vehicle. The bottle contained a liquid, had an apparent wick sticking out of the mouth of the bottle and had several fireworks taped to it. This bottle was adjacent to a larger container, which was also of a suspicious nature.

Based on this discovery, police cleared the immediate area and the DuPage County Bomb Squad was summoned. The Bomb Squad responded and determined that the bottle was in fact a dangerous incendiary device. A short while later the Bomb Squad safely rendered the device useless.

Mr. Watts was ultimately charged with one count of Possession of Explosives or Explosive or Incendiary Devices. This charge is a Class 1 Felony, which carries a term of imprisonment of not less than 4 and not more than 30 years.

Mr. Watts, whose last known address is in Aurora, IL, is currently being held at the DuPage County Jail on $500,000 bond. Since Mr. Watts has been charged, any further inquires should be forwarded to the DuPage County State's Attorneys Office.

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