Explosive Listed on Craigslist Turned Out to Be Dangerous; Neighbors Evacuated
Press release from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office:
On 04-24-2019 at approximately 6:00 p.m., Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies were notified of a Craigslist Ad posting the sale of Vietnam era military ordnance. Deputies promptly initiated an investigation in order to locate and determine if the ordnance was inert.
At approximately 6:40 p.m., Deputies located and contacted the Craigslist seller at a residence in the 30000 block of Highway 20 in Fort Bragg, California.
Deputies confirmed the seller was still in possession of the ordnance. Deputies learned the seller acquired the two pieces of ordnance from a relative who passed away and who had also served in the military. It was the seller’s knowledge and belief that the two pieces of ordnance were inert.
Deputies inspected the ordnance while in telephonic contact with both the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office EOD Unit and the Beale U.S. Airforce Base EOD Unit. The initial inspection proved that one piece of ordnance was inert. The second piece of ordnance however could not be positively deemed inert and further on-site inspection by the Beale U.S. Airforce Base EOD Unit would be required.
Deputies initiated applicable safety measures and evacuated and secured the immediate area, pending the arrival of EOD personnel.
At approximately 12:20 a.m., personnel with the Beale U.S. Airforce Base EOD Unit arrived and conducted further inspection of the ordnance. EOD personnel determined that the second piece of ordnance was not inert and still contained all necessary components required to be a live explosive. The ordnance was subsequently transported off-site by EOD personnel to a safe location where it was rendered unusable and unrepairable.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the Beale U.S. Airforce Base for their involvement and assistance.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office would also like to thank the community members affected by the evacuation, specifically for their cooperation and understanding, during a lengthy process that was required in order to bring this event to a safe resolution.
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🕯🌳Always call the professionals
Explosives are kinda dangerous, yeah. You pretty much gotta know exactly what you’re doing if you’re going to be screwing around with them. And even the best trained and most experienced ordnance & demolitions experts make mistakes from time to time, and end up blowing themselves to pieces. Especially don’t get involved with anybody trying to sell explosive ordnance on Craigslist, good grief! It’s mostly all a bunch of flakes and whack jobs advertising on Craigslist, anyway. But, yeah, keep your distance from anybody trying to sell explosive devices on Craigslist. Totally. Mm.
John – I disagree with what you said about Craigslist. I have used them to buy and sell stuff since their inception. I have made great deals on Craigslist. I found no more flakes and whack jobs buying and selling there than on Tri-City, Times-Standard or any other place that does ads. We agree on one thing and that is Craigslist is not the place to buy explosives. One does not have to worry much about people attempting to sell explosives or bomb materials anywhere because they usually make fatal mistakes. Oh, and then there is the obviously little known fact that it is a federal crime to sell ordnance new or old.
Most my dealings from craigslist are scams. Just my experiences.
About 8 years ago, I tried selling a salt dried elk hide from Wyoming on CL. The first day, someone by the name of Adam responded and wanted to buy one. I arranged to meet him in the parking lot at Sal’s off Broadway. He was about 10 min late, didn’t answer my call, and I was about to leave when 2 CDFW wardens came around the corner of the fence. They didn’t have their guns drawn, but had their hands on them. I figured they didn’t plan on paying for my elk hide. They were pretty rude, but didn’t give me a ticket. I showed them my license from the fall and told them I didn’t know what I had done wrong. They informed me that even if people in Wyoming throw them away, that an out of state animal hide is considered a big game hunting “trophy” in California and must be registered with a Declaration of Import at the agriculture checkpoint at the border. I was told to take it home and make a rug, and that I should learn the laws before I move to some state and start breaking them.
So I’m not sure if they got a tip or if they watch CL themselves. But either way I didn’t appreciate being lied to, manipulated, or being treated rudely by Government officials.
The seller wasn’t trying to sell explosive devices on craigslist. They were trying to sell inert memorabilia on craigslist. They just were wrong…
Dam
I missed out on the
Yard sale of the century
When time is of the essence EOD is mere hours away.
Craigslist, just like any site, requires common sense and intelligent research to be useful. I have found amazingly good deals and also sold many items there. I can see how ‘some people’ are suckered and scammed there, but I have used it hundreds of times without ever having a bad interaction. I would imagine that if someone was searching for military grade explosives from a stranger, that would be the first place they would look. If I was in law enforcement, I would be more interested in the people responding to the ad than the one posting it.
anyone trained enough to handle explosives also knows how to create them. it is after all something so very easy to do and useful a tool just like anything else.
Sometimes AC, you just seem more like 333.
🕯🌳👍🏾🖖