KEENE, NH – A New Hampshire man is facing charges in connection with a pair of explosions in the town of Weare this week.

According to a news release from the Weare Police Department, Dale Stewart Jr., 54, of Webster NH was arrested and charged with two counts of throwing/placing explosives, a class A felony, three counts of possession of an infernal machine, a class A felony, two counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, a class B felony, 2nd degree assault; extreme indifference, a class B felony, two counts of disorderly conduct, and criminal mischief, both class A misdemeanors.

An explosive device was detonated the evening of April 26th in a wooded area off Dustin Tavern Road, and a second went off shortly before 7 am on Thursday April 27th near Sugar Hill Road and Concord Stage Road. A man was injured in the second explosion as he approached the device on the side of the road when it detonated.

The US Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives led the investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Department of Homeland Security, New Hampshire State Police, and the Weare Police Department. As investigations continued, officers were able to identify a suspect vehicle.

Around 6 pm Thursday police located the vehicle and Stewart was immediately detained. Police executed a search warrant on Stewart’s vehicle and home and seized a fully constructed inferno device, also known as a pipe bomb. The NHSP bomb squad responded and neutralized the device.

Stewart was being held at the Hillsborough Department of Corrections and was ordered held on preventative detention pending a mental health evaluation.