James Colby, age 37, of 18 Oak Grove Trail, Nashua

NASHUA – When a police sergeant on patrol on Simon Street Tuesday afternoon noticed a car go off the road, across a lawn, through some brush and narrowly miss crashing into a tree, he naturally pulled the vehicle over to speak with the driver.

The driver turned out to be James Colby, 37, of 18 Oak Grove Trail, who, according to police, told the sergeant he “did not remember driving off the roadway.”

While speaking with Colby, the sergeant observed a rifle in the vehicle, and Colby allegedly told the sergeant he also “had a firearm on his person,” the reports state.

When a patrol officer pulled up to assist the sergeant, Colby gave the officer consent to search his vehicle, which, police said, turned up a pill outside of a prescription bottle, which turned out to be a controlled drug.

The officer also found “multiple fireworks” in the car, along with a “suspicious looking device,” which was described as “four fireworks taped together, with their fuses tied together,” according to police.

Meanwhile, the officer, allegedly “observing signs of impairment” in speaking with Colby, asked him if he would be willing to perform field sobriety tests, which police said Colby refused.

He was arrested at that point, police said, and charged with driving under the influence of drugs or liquor and possession of a controlled drug.

Police seized the fireworks, the firearms and the device, and after consulting a department explosives expert determined the device “fit the criteria of an explosive,” the reports state.

Charges of possession of bomb or explosive and, later, two counts of felonious use of a firearm, were filed against Colby.

He was arraigned Wednesday in Superior Court, at which time the prosecutor recommended he be held on preventive detention. The judge’s order wasn’t immediately available.

According to archived Telegraph stories, Colby has at least two other arrests on his record.

In March 2015, Colby, then 32, of the same Oak Grove Trail address, was charged with a felony count of reckless conduct for allegedly firing several shots from a .40 caliber handgun into the air.

Police said at the time that the rounds were fired from a moving vehicle on Dickerman Street, and while no people or property was struck, numerous residents of the area called police.

And roughly a year ago, Colby was arrested on charges accusing him of causing significant damage to tables and windows in Rivier University’s Regina Library.

He was charged with two felony counts of criminal mischief, the reports state.

Police investigated that incident for several months, eventually identifying Colby as the suspect and taking him into custody in November.

Colby was said at the time to be an employee of the university, but it wasn’t known what type of job he had.

Information on the status of those two cases wasn’t immediately available.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.