San Diego

Police found two pipe bombs along with illegal drugs Thursday after stopping a car in Ocean Beach for not having a current registration, police reported.

John Carlin, 37, of San Diego was pulled over in the 1900 block of Abbott Street at 3:25 p.m., when police noticed that the registration on his car was 2 years out of date, Lt. Connie van Putten of the San Diego Police Department said.

The police asked Carlin for his identification and when he failed to produce any, they searched his car. They also ran a check on warrants against him, which turned up one felony and three misdemeanor drug warrants, Van Putten said.

Between the front seats of the car, police found 2 grams of methamphetamines.

In the back seat on the floor of the passenger side of the car, police found what appeared to be two rubber pipes. The explosives unit was called in and the devices were X-rayed, which showed that the pipes held live explosives, Van Putten said.

The rubber pipes turned out to be two lead pipes wrapped in black electric tap with a fuse. They were attached to two propane tanks, Van Putten said.

“The explosives were real and lethal,” Van Putten said.

Carlin, who police described as a transient living out of his vehicle, was being held by San Diego police on illegal possession and transportation of explosives and drugs, Van Putten said.