DEERFIELD — A 46-year-old Easthampton man was arrested after police found what resembled a pipe bomb at Trew Stone Inc. on River Road Wednesday morning, according to the Deerfield Police Department.
The Massachusetts State Police bomb squad confirmed the device to be explosive, Deerfield Police said. It was later deactivated by the bomb squad. Police said the suspect was charged with manufacturing an explosive, incendiary or destructive device.
The suspect, a Trew Stone employee, is being held on $20,000 bail, according to Franklin County Sheriff Christopher Donelan. He is expected to be arraigned in Greenfield District Court Thursday morning.
Deerfield police declined to release the man’s name. The district attorney’s office does not release the names of suspects until the arraignment, according to spokeswoman Mary Carey.
State police received a call for assistance on a possible explosive device around 8:10 a.m., state police Lt. Tom Ryan said.
The River Road facility, run by All States Material Group, of Sunderland, was evacuated while the situation was evaluated. The device was at the asphalt plant, on the site of a quarry, according to the state fire marshal’s office. A Trew Stone representative at the scene had no comment and directed questions to State Police.
Several law enforcement officers were involved in the matter, including Deerfield police, Easthampton Police Department detectives, state police, the fire marshal’s office, the bomb squad and the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
The investigation is being conducted by Deerfield police, the fire marshal’s office and state police assigned to the district attorney’s office.