Sheriff’s deputies discovered guns, homemade explosives and booby traps in a Jacumba home early Monday and arrested a 40-year-old man wanted on assault charges, officials said.
Deputies and SWAT team members went to the home on Old Highway 80 just south of Interstate 8 shortly before 6 a.m. to serve a warrant as they investigated allegations that the man had shot a neighbor with a pellet gun on Feb. 22, said sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Ford.
The man allegedly tried to hide from deputies, concealing himself inside a wall in the home which Ford described as “a small alcove that had been covered with sheet rock in an attempt to make it look like it was part of the normal wall structure.”
When deputies found the man, he had a firearm, pellet gun and imitation firearm in the wall with him, Ford said.
During the search, deputies also found multiple fabricated explosives inside the home and improvised bobby traps scattered around the yard.
“The explosives appeared to be homemade in nature, but were not part of the booby traps found around the residence,” Ford said in an email. “The booby traps appeared to be designed to puncture anyone’s foot or tires that may enter the property. Some attempts were made to blend some of the booby traps into the surroundings, while others were quite obvious to see in the daylight but would be difficult in the dark.”
Pictures provided by investigators show balls of rusty nails zip-tied together and long metal screws jutting out from pieces of scrap wood. The department also released photos of homemade devices wrapped in foil and tape reportedly found on the property.
The Sheriff’s Office Bomb/Arson unit was called to the scene to help with the investigation.
The man’s live-in girlfriend was arrested on suspicion of obstructing/delaying a peace officer. She was cited and released. Two juveniles were inside the home at the time of the arrest, Ford said.
The man was booked in San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment, possessing/deploying booby traps and multiple counts of possessing/manufacturing destructive devices.
