CRESTVIEW — The discovery of explosive material near the railroad tracks running through the city has led to a federal investigation of a Special Forces soldier awaiting trial on attempted murder charges, the state Fire Marshal’s Office says.
Crestview Police Chief Tony Taylor said officers established a perimeter and notified the Fire Marshal’s Office on Sunday when they came upon a large quantity of what has been identified as the explosive C4 near railroad tracks at Lloyd Street.
The explosives were “not rigged for detonation” and did not appear to have been placed with any kind of terroristic intent, Taylor said.
A spokeswoman for the Fire Marshal’s Office confirmed those findings.
“There is not evidence to suggest that any plan was in place in which to intentionally harm any train travelers,” Ashley Carr said in an email. “At this time, it is not believed that the explosives were deliberately placed near a train track.”
But the Fire Marshal’s Office verified that it is investigating whether the explosives were in the possession of Vaughn Pottle when they were brought there.
A cache of detonators had been discovered Dec. 29 at Pottle’s home in Baker, the state Fire Marshal’s Office confirmed.
Pottle has been in the Okaloosa County Jail since Dec. 16.
The Special Forces soldier was arrested following a domestic violence incident and is scheduled to be tried March 14 on a charge of attempted murder, according to court records.
The victim in the domestic violence case found the first stash of explosive devices Dec. 29 when she was removing Pottle’s belongings, the Fire Marshal’s Office said.
The Fire Marshal’s Office’s investigation, which now includes the FBI and the bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, is focusing in part on determining how the second batch of explosives arrived in Crestview, Carr said.
