Tripwire stretched across road was attached to an explosive device, NC cops say
A sharp-eyed deputy is being credited with finding a roadside “weapon of mass destruction” before anyone hit the tripwire, according to investigators in western North Carolina.
The discovery was made Nov. 29 near Marion, when the deputy stopped to do a property check and “noticed several monofilament strands stretched across the road,” the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office said in a Dec. 3 news release.
“The monofilament (wire) was connected to a device that was pointed toward the road,” the sheriff’s office said. “An investigation ... determined it to be a destructive explosive device.”
The device was loaded with 12-gauge birdshot and was intended to be a perimeter alarm and “to inflict injury,” court documents state.
Joseph D. Cooper, 52, lives nearby and was identified as a suspect, officials said. Cooper struggled as deputies attempted to arrest him, resulting in a detective suffering a leg injury, a warrant reports.
Cooper has been charged with:
- Three counts of felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction
- Felony possession of a firearm by a felon
- Misdemeanor resisting a public officer
- Misdemeanor assault on a government official
His bond was set at $175,000, officials said.
Maps show Cooper lives about 12 miles north of Marion, in an area that is sparsely populated.
Marion is about a 95-mile drive northwest from uptown Charlotte.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Tripwire stretched across road was attached to an explosive device, NC cops say."