Two pipe bombs found in car trunk

AUSTINTOWN — A man was charged with possession of dangerous ordnance Thursday night after a state trooper found two pipe bombs in the trunk of his car during a traffic stop.

Ralph R. Kistler, 20, of Youngstown, is being held in the Mahoning County jail after police found the explosives in the car he was driving.

The trooper pulled over Kistler after 9:30 p.m. after he allegedly ran a red light on Mahoning Avenue. When he smelled suspected drugs, the trooper called for backup from the Austintown Police Department K9 unit. The dog indicated that something was in the trunk, where police found the two pipe bombs and other explosive material, a dispatcher said.

The Youngstown Bomb Squad removed the explosives and disposed of them.