Washington State Patrol bomb squad was called to the U-Haul location in Gorst on Wednesday after a pipe bomb was found in a vehicle, according to court documents.
A 25-year-old Port Orchard man accused of having the device was charged with a count of possession of an explosive device in Kitsap County Superior Court on Thursday.
Law enforcement was initially called to the U-Haul location at about 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday on a report of an unwanted male there, a Kitsap County sheriff's sergeant wrote in a report. The man was found alone in the driver's seat of a vehicle.
The man gave consent for law enforcement to search the vehicle, and the sergeant found a metal case wedged in between the driver's seat and the center console. Inside the case, the sergeant found two mortar fireworks and a copper pipe bomb, he wrote.
"The pipe bomb was copper tubing and it was crimped on both ends," the sergeant wrote. "There was a red fuse protruding from the center of the tubing. I also noted leather string wrapped around the center of the tube."
The man explained that he knew the device was in the metal case and in the vehicle and said the device did not belong to him. He said he was only holding onto it in a safe place so no one could get to it, the sergeant wrote.
The WSP bomb squad responded, used an X-ray device to analyze the item and determined that it likely contained flash powder and was a fully functioning improvised explosive device, according to court documents.