Courtesy of Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office
CATASAUQUA, Pa. – The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said the two men charged after an explosive device was thrown from a vehicle near an Election Day polling place in Catasauqua Tuesday are father and son, and that the son is not yet in custody.
District Attorney Gavin Holihan discussed the charges in a news conference Thursday afternoon.
56-year-old Matthew Pletz and 24-year-old Jack Pletz were charged for allegedly throwing an explosive device from a truck. It happened near the Salem United Church of Christ. At the time of the explosion, the church was being used as a polling location for the primary elections for State and Federal offices, Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Pennsylvania State Police determined the explosive device went off about half a block from the polling entrance, the DA’s office said. First responders found remnants of an explosive device at the intersection of Walnut and Third streets, according to the release.
Nobody was injured in the incident.
Matthew Pletz and Jack Pletz have each been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly detonating the explosive Tuesday.
Matthew Pletz has his preliminary hearing scheduled for May 26. Jack Pletz is not yet in custody, and there is a warrant out for his arrest, Holihan said in Thursday’s news conference.
Anybody who knows Jack Pletz’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or Pennsylvania State Police. Holihan warns the public to not approach Pletz if you see him.
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The DA said Jack Pletz is 5-foot-5 and weighs 180 pounds.
Authorities do not have any insight at this time into a possible motive, said Holihan.
Police say when they searched their truck after the incident, they found 17 more explosive devices inside.
The DA’s office said no information exists to cause investigators to believe this incident was related to the polling location. Residents who vote at that polling place were still able to cast their ballots at the church, according to the news release.
The investigation is ongoing.