The situation at a River Green home where authorities suspect that a 14-year-old boy allegedly made "extremely dangerous" explosive devices was "dysfunctional," Canton Police Chief Bob Merchant said this afternoon.

"When you have juveniles engaging in this type of behavior, and you have parents or adults that elect, for whatever reason, not to get involved, that's not a normal situation," he said.

That, Merchant said, is why police arrested Brian and Sandra Howell on Tuesday night, charged each of them with six counts of possession and manufacture of a destructive device as well as two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and turned over a female juvenile in the home to the Department of Children and Family Services.

"Our investigation revealed they had knowledge of what was going on," he said.

Brian, 49, was held Tuesday in the Cherokee County Detention Center in lieu of a $68,560 bond. So was Sandra, also 49. Both have been released, Merchant said.

"I actually saw one of the devices that was detonated there at the residence by the GBI bomb technicians and turned over to ATF for their crime lab to analyze," Merchant said. "I can tell you after I looked at that device, there is no question in my mind that that type of device is meant to cause serious bodily injury or even death if someone was in close proximity."

It was three days ago that the Canton Police Department received a tip about suspected explosives at 119 Woodbury Lane.

"We had information about a juvenile and a Facebook account," he said, "and we have been able to access that and that information is part of our investigation."

While assistant police chief Todd Vande Zande didn't say Monday how authorities were tipped off, he said that "as soon as we got the tip, we contacted the (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) Bomb Disposal Unit and the ATF and we have been in touch with the FBI."

Through Monday morning and much of that afternoon, agents with the ATF and the GBI went in and out of the Howell home. They found six devices and detonated one.

Just before 1 p.m. Monday, the 14-year-old, who was wearing a red T-shirt, was placed in the back of a Canton Police squad car. That teen was charged with two counts of possession and manufacture of destructive devices.

Another 14-year-old boy, described by Merchant as a friend, was arrested that night on similar charges.

Both are being held at a juvenile detention facility and will have their first arraignments on Thursday, Merchant said.

More arrests are possible, Det. Candy Worthy said in a Tuesday press release announcing the arrests of Brian and Sandra Howell.

Stay with Canton-Sixes Patch for updates on this story.

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