CARENCRO, La. - A suspect charged with possessing explosives told police that the homemade pipe bombs that caused the evacuation of eight homes in Carencro were intended for fishing.
The Advertiser reports that police found two homemade explosives in a truck stopped on Wednesday.
The pipe bombs caused the evacuation of eight homes for several hours.
According to the arrest affidavits for Paul Parker, 38, the passenger of the truck, and driver Jake Richard, 20, the vehicle was pulled over for driving 55 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Both men were arrested after officers found the devices.
While Richard was questioned about the bombs, according to the affidavit, he told deputies he didn't know the bombs were in the vehicle and that a "friend of his makes the pipe bombs and uses them for fishing."
The use of explosive or electric devices for fishing is illegal, but there have been reported cases of such methods in Louisiana.
The method is used to send shock waves through water either "shocking" or killing multiple fish at once, which are then collected as their bodies float to the water's surface.
Parker was booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on $25,000 bond on one count of manufacturing and possessing a bomb.
Richard was being held on a $50,000 bond on two counts of manufacturing and possessing a bomb.
It wasn't immediately clear if the men had lawyers.