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Pair arrested with pipe bomb

Police say a 16-year-old built the bomb. "It was just a very stupid and very dangerous thing to have done," a police spokesman said.

By Times Staff
Published August 16, 2005

CLEARWATER - A Largo man and a 16-year-old boy were arrested early Monday after they were found, police said, with a pipe bomb at Cliff Stephens Park at 901 Fairwood Ave.

Clearwater police say Patrick James Divenuti, 18, intended to detonate the pipe bomb in a public park. The 16-year-old boy, who is not being identified because of his age, made the explosive device, Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor said.

Patrol officers found the small pipe bomb during a traffic stop about 12:15 a.m. Monday. Police "found their presence suspicious," Shelor said. The Tampa police bomb squad was called and confirmed it was a working pipe bomb.

"It was just a very stupid and very dangerous thing to have done," Shelor said. "These guys were not going out to terrorize or harm anyone." Shelor said he did not know why the two were in the park, or if there were people in the park at the time.

The bomb was made from "materials you can find around the house," he said, but he did not know how powerful it was.

Divenuti and the 16-year-old were both arrested on a charge of possession of a destructive device. Divenuti remained in Pinellas County Jail on Monday afternoon on $5,000 bail. The 16-year-old was booked into the juvenile detention center, Shelor said.

[Last modified August 16, 2005, 01:29:18]