'Bomb' Scare Closes Section Of Route 5 In East Windsor

EAST WINDSOR, CT — A bomb scare initiated by a 38-year-old man who claimed to be "live" online with ticking, beeping packages in his vehicle, forced the closure of Route 5 early Wednesday morning, police said.

According to an incident report, at about 3 a.m., an East Windsor police officer noticed a vehicle parked behind the Wendy's at 45 Prospect Hill Road, the local address for that Route 5 parcel.

The restaurant was closed at the time, police said.

The vehicle, with a man identified as Timothy Phelan inside, had its windows covered with "several different panels and sheets," according to an incident report. When an officer asked for identification, Phelan became "obstinate," and refused to hand over any ID while claiming he was not breaking any laws, according to an incident report.

Phelan was "verbally aggressive" toward officers and said they were "messing with the wrong guy," according to an incident report.

He also claimed to be "live," and police interpreted that to be on social media, according to an incident report.

After several more efforts to get Phelan to identify himself and step out of the vehicle were unsuccessful, he was physically removed from it and placed under arrest, according to an incident report.

Several "wrapped" items were discovered in the vehicle, which were "ticking and beeping," and when Phelan was questioned about their contents, he began screaming to "just open them and you'll find out," according to an incident report.

Phelan also began to discuss a recent "domestic terror" incident during which a Tesla truck was "intentionally blown up," according to an incident report.

The Connecticut State Police bomb squad was then called in to assess the packages, along with the Warehouse Point Fire Department. Several roads were shut down as a result.

The bomb squad eventually cleared the items and declared them to be "safe," and the roads were opened back up, police said.

Phelan was charged with simple trespass, interfering with police and first-degree breach of peace.