Greencastle man arrested after Illinois bomb scare

RANTOUL, Ill. — A Greencastle man was arrested in Illinois Wednesday evening after leaving his 12-year-old son alone inside a truck with an unexploded bomb.

According to The News-Gazette of Rantoul, Jeremiah Bridges, 38, was taken into custody early Wednesday evening following a daylong manhunt.

Police reportedly began looking for Bridges after a search of a vehicle believed to be his revealed a sleeping 12-year-old boy, weapons, ammunition and what authorities believed to be an unexploded bomb.

The owner of a Rantoul business reportedly found the truck parked in his parking lot and alerted police when he found the sleeping 12-year-old boy and a dog inside the truck.

The area in which the truck was discovered was cordoned off. Police even closed U.S. 45 on the north side of Rantoul.

In their search for Bridges, who reportedly has homes in both Greenastle and Veedersburg, police tried to reach him on his cell phone. They got no answer but efforts to located the signal showed it northwest of Rantoul, according to Illinoishomepage.net.

Fox Champaign reported that its crew spotted a man matching Bridges’ description as he returned to the area of the truck around 6:30 p.m.

Rantoul Police arrested the man, whom they later confirmed to be Bridges.

It is unclear what charges Bridges will face in the case.

His criminal history includes a 2015 guilty plea to intimidation in Putnam Circuit Court and a 1997 guilty plea to cocaine possession out of Marion County.

Following Wednesday’s incident, the 12-year-old boy was turned over to the care of the Department of Children and Family Services.