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Fairfield Man Charged With Making Bombs In Home

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Fairfield man has been arrested on charges of possessing explosives.

Police say 69-year-old Joseph Callahan was charged Monday with 11 counts of illegal possession of explosives, one count of manufacturing bombs and six counts of reckless endangerment.

As WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported, hazmat teams are still removing weapons, ammunition and chemicals from his house in Fairfield.

Fairfield Man Charged With Making Bombs In Home

Police responded to the home Tuesday after he reported a burglary. Callahan's attorney, Richard Meehan, said his client seemed disoriented due to psychiatric issues and police discovered the materials in a subsequent search.

Meehan said his client is a chemist and most of what he had was legal, though he may have had too much of some things. Meehan said Callahan agreed to pay to remove whatever he can't have.

Callahan worked for years at Dupont and Remington and is fully cooperating with police, fire and hazmat teams, Meehan said.

Meehan added his client bears no malintent.

"He's concerned about his neighbors and the community and the misperception that there's something unsafe that was going on in his home," Meehan told Schneidau.

Callahan has been staying with a neighbor while his house is cleared.

A conditional promise to appear in court Oct. 16 was issued in lieu of bond.

When police arrived at the Bronson Road home last Wednesday, they discovered the hazardous chemicals, up to 200 guns, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, apparently homemade explosive devices and 250 gallons of jet fuel, CBS 2's Lou Young reported.

"Anybody who makes bombs has some sort of nefarious reason for it," Police Chief Gary MacNamara said at the time. "There are indications that he did have some hobbies with regards to rockets. When he crossed the line or why he crossed the line into manufacturing explosive devices, we don't know."

The bombs were described as sticks of explosives that would be detonated by a lit fuse and are larger than an M-80 firecracker but smaller than a stick of dynamite.

Officials said individually, the chemicals are inert, but when combined they pose an explosive hazard, WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported.

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