A local resident is facing a class C felony charge for not having a license to use and possess explosives.
Albert Arnold, 29, is charged with not having a license to possess or use explosives. He could serve up to 5 years in state prison and potentially a $10,000 fine. Pullman Police Department closed the case Monday and forwarded the charge to the Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office, said Pullman PD Sergeant Chris Engle.
On the morning of Jan. 21, Arnold was arrested at his apartment after Pullman PD received reports of a loud explosion, he said.
Engle said officers were not initially aware of what happened because Pullman PD sometimes receives similar reports ranging from construction equipment to a gunshot.
WSU Pullman has had a COVID-19 test percent positivity rate of 1.8 percent within the past two weeks.
As of Jan. 27, the university has 46 positive active COVID-19 cases. 38 students and eight employees are in their 10-day isolation period, according to the WSU COVID-19 Dashboard.
WSU Pullman had its lowest positive case count this year on Jan. 3 with only 23 cases, according to the dashboard.
Fall 2020 had a higher spike in COVID-19 positive cases. By Sept. 6, the university had 598 positive COVID-19 cases, and Whitman County had 625 positive COVID-19 cases at that time. WSU Pullman students and employees made up nearly 96 percent of the cases, according to the dashboard.