LARGO – A half-stick of dynamite that was turned into the police department June 28 was taken to a field and detonated.
According to a police report, a resident arrived in the police department lobby to turn in some old shotgun shells for destruction.
After getting the appropriate information for the property report, an officer went to put the old shotgun shells in for destruction.
Upon doing an inventory, he discovered what appeared to be a half stick of dynamite. He notified his supervisor.
Police called the person who turned in the items. The owner said that her deceased husband was not only a duck hunter but an engineer.
The staff duty officer, Tampa Bomb Squad and the Largo Fire Department were notified. The explosive was taken out into the police department parking area behind the large waste bin and the parking lot was secured.
The Tampa Bomb Squad took an X-ray of the item to confirm that it was explosive.
A convoy of vehicles then transported the explosive to the radio-controlled plane field off Donegan Road, where it was detonated.
The bomb squad said that the explosive had been tampered with previously and while it was not as powerful as its original state, its stability was unknown.
