Cass County deputies arrest man with alleged homemade bomb outside Drexel bank

Cass County sheriff’s deputies and federal agents evacuated an area around a bank in Drexel on Saturday morning after a man was arrested allegedly in possession of a gun and a homemade bomb.

Deputies were called to the Hawthorn Bank at 115 S. Second St. about 8 a.m. to investigate a suspicious person in a vehicle in the parking lot.

The deputies arrested Caleb M. Ayers of Harrisonville on a warrant from a vehicle theft charge in St. Clair County, Mo.

During the arrest, deputies found a loaded handgun and a box containing what they believed to be an “improvised explosive device.”

The deputies evacuated the area and called agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who recovered the box.

Maj. Jeff Weber of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said ATF agents confirmed the box contained explosives.

Charges against Ayers were pending, according to the sheriff’s office.

People were allowed to return to the area around the bank Saturday.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 8:23 PM with the headline "Cass County deputies arrest man with alleged homemade bomb outside Drexel bank."