A man who had been arrested last week for the alleged possession of more than two dozen pipe bombs and explosives has died in his jail cell, NBC affiliate WPTV-TV reported Monday.
According to WPTV, 34-year-old Gregory Samuel Haasze was found by correctional officers Saturday night with a torn sheet tied around his neck.
He had been arrested in Boynton Beach Thursday on 26 counts of making, possessing or placing a destructive device.
The officer who found him tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue personnel, WPTV reported.
Haasze's arrest had taken place after police responded to reports of an explosion found what appeared to be a detonated device in a roadway, an arrest report said.
The officers found several devices that appeared to be PVC pipe bombs along the roadway, and the bomb squad responded.
The bomb squad initially found six devices containing black powder material, nails, metal screws and pellets, the report said. A total of 26 explosive devices were found in the area, the report said.
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While officers were at the scene, a citizen told them there was a nearby resident named Greg who makes his own explosives and sets them off periodically, the report said.
Officers also found a cardboard box with Haasze's name on it on top of a dumpster containing plastic bottles, and found black gunpowder bottles in the dumpster, the report said.
Haasze had told the officers he'd been making devices for years and had made some for Independence Day, and had bought materials to make them on eBay, the report said. He'd also said he never intended to hurt anyone, but had used the explosives to remove tree stumps, the report said.
