Tamaqua police charged Dustin Oncay, 42, of Tamaqua, with illegal possession of firearms and drug charges following a 9:23 p.m. Oct. 14 incident on the unit block of Clay Street.

Additional charges were filed the following day after police executed a search warrant at the garage where Oncay was living, and found improvised explosive devices.

According to police, officers learned that Oncay, who had an active warrant for his arrest, was in possession of a gun, despite being a felon and not allowed to have one.

Police said Oncay was living in a garage, and when they spotted him, he attempted to close the garage door. Police advised him that he was under arrest for the warrant, and noticed he had a handgun in front of him. He was taken into custody without incident.

Police said drug paraphernalia was in view, and officers retrieved 100 baggies of a substance that tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.

Officers charged Oncay with possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is in Schuylkill County Prison on the warrant.

While police were in the garage, they found signs that more illegal substances and a firearm might be inside. Police obtained and executed a search warrant Oct. 15.

Police said they found a multitude of drug paraphernalia and packaging materials, along with a fully loaded shotgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

While searching, police found a satchel containing six improvised explosive devices that resembled grenades. Due to the unknown nature of the devices, police called in a Pennsylvania State Police bomb squad to assist them in seizing and destroying them.