UPDATE | Hillsborough County sheriff's detectives said they located a tool box containing a small threaded pipe that resembled a pipe bomb dropped by a suspect as he ran from a traffic stop Tuesday.
Kenneth Iversen, 23, was arrested on multiple drug-related charges, fleeing and attempting to elude and two counts of resisting an officer without violence Tuesday.
Iversen was suspected of engaging in suspicious activity at The Home Depot at 9941 Adamo Drive in Brandon on two occasions before his arrest, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
He was spotted at the store Sunday, Feb. 5, when Iversen's suspicious behavior drew the attention of store employees, a sheriff's report said. Iversen was seen selecting items that could be used to assemble a pipe bomb.
When confronted by store employees, Iversen was heard saying "Allah Akbar" then left the store and dropped a large knife as his departed. Deputies were called to the store to investigate.
On Tuesday, Feb. 7, sheriff's detectives conducting undercover surveillance at the same The Home Depot store saw Iversen return to the business and again began selecting items that could be consistent with making a pipe bomb.
When the deputies approached, Iversen ran out of the store, jumped into a 2012 Chrysler 300 and drove away at a high rate of speed. Three undercover deputies in unmarked cars and the sheriff's helicopter followed Iversen until he stopped in the 4900 block of South 78th Street in Clair Mel City.
Iverson discarded a tool box as he ran away from the scene. Detectives located the tool box and found a small threaded pipe inside that resembled a pipe bomb, the report said.
Iversen was caught after a short foot chase and arrested. According to the report, a clear glass pipe that tested positive for methamphetamine was found in Iversen's pants pocket.
Hillsborough deputies with the assistance of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, Sarasota County Fire Department and the FBI, searched a house in Sarasota, where Iversen lived with his mother. No additional hazardous material was found at the house, the report added.
ORIGINAL STORY | The FBI and local deputies searched a home in Sarasota for suspicious materials after a man was caught buying materials in Hillsborough County that could be used to make a bomb.
Deputies arrested Kenneth Iversen, 23, on Tuesday on multiple drug-related charges. During questioning, Iversen made comments to deputies that he had materials that could be consistent with bomb-making.
Authorities searched his Sarasota home on Tonga Drive on Tuesday night as a precaution. Iversen lives at the home with his mother. Sarasota deputies assisted Hillsborough deputies with the suspicious incident.
Officials have not released an update to say if they found anything inside of the home.
Iversen is being charged with one count of fleeing and attempting to elude police officers, two counts of resisting officer without violence, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of possession of controlled substance.
Iversen was recently arrested by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office on February 1, 2017, and he faces multiple charges in that arrest.
Story Developing. Stay with ABC Action News for updates.
