Man Charged In Suspicious Device Discovery Headed For Trial
BEAVER (KDKA) -- A 60-year-old man is headed to trial on charges related to the discovery of a suspicious device in Beaver County.
Robert Tilly appeared before a judge Thursday morning on charges of possessing weapons of mass destruction and risking a catastrophe.
Police say he is responsible for a device found in the area of the Spring Run Apartments in Monaca earlier this month.
"Mr. Tilly is not a bomb maker; he is not a bomb provider. He was not trying to place a bomb anywhere," said Steven Valsamidis, Tilly's attorney. "He is just a guy that found something and wanted to throw it away."
A friend says Tilly found the device in his daughter's trunk and he asked somebody else to get rid of it.
"That was his intention; just throw it away. Get rid of it," said Jeff Lancos, Tilly's friend. "I don't want this here in my vehicle. He has grandchildren."
But police took the case extremely seriously; especially since the bomb squad had been called out to that same apartment complex just the week before when a pipe bomb was found.
Tilly's not charged with the pipe bomb incident.
It also comes on the heels of the Boston Marathon bombings.
"I certainly understand the response of the police that day," said Valsamidis. "It was responsible and prudent, especially in light of what's been going on recently."
Tilly is being held under $100,000 bond pending his trial.
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