FAIRFIELD — The man who was arrested over the weekend for making an explosive device was not intending to cause any kind of harm or destruction with it, police said.

Wayne Hargrove

Wayne Hargrove

Capt. Paul St. Amand said that on Saturday, a sergeant in the department received calls from two concerned citizens about a person on High Street who was building a pipe bomb. St. Amand typed up a search warrant and then contacted the state fire marshal’s office and the Maine State Police bomb squad. Police executed the search warrant and located what police are referring to as an “improvised explosive device” in the living room area of the residence.

St. Amand said officers with fire marshal’s office also located materials used to build the explosive device.

Wayne Hargrove, 25, was arrested on a charge of criminal use of explosives, which is a class C crime, a felony punishable by five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000. Hargrove was released on $2,500 unsecured bail and is scheduled to appear at 1 p.m. Aug. 16 in Somerset County Unified Court.

Police are not releasing Hargrove’s address.

An initial news release from Fairfield police states that Hargrove intended to detonate the device locally. However, St. Amand said on Tuesday that Hargrove was planning to take the explosive device, which was about 10 inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter, to a friend’s property out of town.

“We do not believe there was any malicious intent,” St. Amand said.

The bomb squad brought the device to a safe location and detonated it.

Kaitlynn Potter, Hargrove’s girlfriend, said Hargrove built the device out of boredom when she was busy at work. She called the device “an over-glorified firework” that was going to be set off in a field in Albion or Clinton.

Potter said the complaints were called in by a person whom she described as “vindictive.” Potter said she used to hang out with the caller’s children.

Colin Ellis — 861-9253

cellis@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @colinoellis