CRESTVIEW — A bond hearing this week could shed light on the investigation surrounding the discovery of explosives Jan. 5 near the CSX railroad tracks.
Vaughn Pottle, a 31-year-old soldier with the Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), faces a domestic violence charge of attempted murder. He will appear in court Friday morning seeking to post bond.
Pottle is suspected of putting explosives on the tracks’ right of way near Lloyd Street, but “at this point no one has been charged federally with the explosives.” said Randy Beach, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“We don’t know if he’s going to be given a bond,” Beach said. “If he is, that may change everything that I have to do, but I can’t say one way or another if he will be whisked away or charged right there.”
The state attorney’s office will ask Circuit Judge Michael Flowers to order Pottle held in jail until trial, said Bill Bishop, chief assistant state attorney for Okaloosa County.
“Our position is he is a danger to society based on the nature of the charges against him,” Bishop said.
Pottle has been in the county jail since Dec. 15. At the time of his arrest he was out on bond after an incident in October.
Federal authorities became interested in Pottle when one cache of military-issued C-4 was found Dec. 29 at his home in Baker. The explosives were found along the railroad tracks a week later.
The cache found in Crestview was not triggered to detonate, according to Police Chief Tony Taylor.
Beach said investigators have confirmed the explosives had been taken from a military installation. Now they are tracing serial numbers and locating the manufacturer to determine which one.
ATF is working with the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office, the FBI, Army Criminal Investigative Division, Homeland Security Investigations, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Army Judge Advocate General'sCorps.
“We’re using the abilities of each agency to track the original source, which begins at the manufacturer,” Beach said.
The FBI is interviewing witnesses and should complete its portion of the investigation in the coming week, Beach added.
Pottle’s bond hearing will be at 9 a.m. Friday at the county courthouse. Beach said the ATF and other agencies will attend.
“If it looks like he’s going to make bond, that may change my reason to move swiftly,” Beach said. “If he does not make bond our investigation should be complete in the next two to three weeks. The more time I have to put the investigation together, the better.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.