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Police In Inglewood Bust Man, 27, For Allegedly Possessing Explosive Device

INGLEWOOD (CBS) — A 27-year-old Los Angeles man is being held in an Inglewood jail without bail for possession of an improvised explosive device, authorities said.

Leonardo Cejas Vargas was arrested in a traffic stop near Hardy Street and Eucalyptus Avenue on Saturday at 10:20 p.m., Lt. James D. Madia of the Inglewood Police Department said.

Vargas was allegedly in possession of methamphetamine and what at first glance appeared to be paraphernalia used to smoke the drug, Madia said.

The device was a glass tube with a bulb on the end, he said.

Then officers saw it had a fuse protruding from an opening in the bulb and called the sheriff's arson-explosives detail. They confirmed the device was an improvised explosive device that had 15 to 20 times the amount of pyrotechnic powder of an M-80.

Madia said detonation at a close range would likely cause serious injury and could even be fatal.

Vargas could face up to 7 years in prison for possessing such a device.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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