SAN JACINTO: Bomb scare forces evacuation of county offices, other businesses
SAN JACINTO — A suspicious package, found yesterday morning, Tuesday, Aug. 15, near the Riverside County Department of Child Support Services and County Probation offices brought a flood of law enforcement officials, bomb squad technicians and several bomb squad robots to inspect the item.
Reports of a package dropped by a man claiming the package would blow up if anyone touched it brought numerous bomb squad members Tuesday, Aug. 15. Janelle Ellis Oxley photo
After inspecting the package, which was found in the 1000 block of State Street in San Jacinto, authorities determined it to be safe and that it posed no danger to the public. The package was described as a black, leather, attaché case.
Deputies with the San Jacinto Police Department responded to the location about 9:46 a.m., after a person called 911 to report the find.
Jacob Melendrez, who works near where all the police activity was happening, later explained he was at his place of employment when a customer came into the business and reported that a homeless man dropped the attaché case before telling others around him that the case had an explosive device inside it.
“He said if you touch it, it’s gonna blow up. So (officials) took it very seriously.” Melendrez explained.
When deputies arrived, they made a cursory inspection of the case and determined there was enough cause to summon members of the Sheriff’s Hazardous Device Team to conduct a further inspection of the suspicious item.
One person at the scene, Jose Villegas, said he had gone to the DPSS office that morning, only to find the parking lot blocked off by law enforcement officials who reportedly told him the DPSS building and several other nearby businesses and buildings had been evacuated. Officials later confirmed several nearby businesses, including the Riverside County Probation and the DPSS offices.
A bomb squad robot is prepared to inspect a suspicious package. San Jacinto PD photo
While HDT members prepared two robots to inspect the package, Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters and American Medical Response medics stood by, ready to provide medical aid to any potential victims, in the event the package proved to have a bomb inside it or detonated.
HDT members eventually deployed a bomb robot to conduct a closer inspection of the item. The robot carried the leather case to a safe area for closer inspection, at which time technicians determined the package did not contain an explosive device and was not a threat.
Sheriff’s officials have made no comment regarding the man who allegedly left the suspicious package or made the comment regarding the case containing an explosive device.
There were no reported injuries related to the incident and investigation, which is active and ongoing.
This was at least the second major incident to occur near the Riverside County Department of Child Support Services and County Probation offices this month, following an Aug. 3 attempted murder that involved a person attacking a homeless man with a concrete slab while the man slept. (Click link to view other story.)
Witnesses to the concrete slab attack have stated the man police have listed as a “person of interest” was believed to be homeless. To date, he has not been apprehended and it was not known if officials had successfully identified the man they listed as being sought in connection with the brutal attack.
The two incidents have left some San Jacinto and Hemet residents rattled and concerned, with many citing the fact that both incidents reportedly involved homeless individuals.
After yesterday’s bomb scare, Maggie Varnegas, a San Jacinto resident who said she often visited different businesses at the complex where both incidents happened said, “This homeless problem is just getting too big, too out of control.”
Varnegas, who said she will no longer take her two young girls with her while visiting the different businesses in the area where the two, high-profile incidents happened lamented, “This city, this entire valley, just isn’t what it once was and I can’t wait to get my kids away from here.”
“(This area) just isn’t safe anymore,” Varnegas continued. “It’s not safe during the day and it’s especially not safe at night, when the sun goes down and the ‘meth-heads’, hookers and criminals come out.”
Anyone with information about the incident or who knows the individual who reportedly left the case and made the bomb threat is encouraged to immediately contact sheriff’s officials at the San Jacinto Police Station at (951) 654-2702. Callers can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 13 – soon to be 14 – grandchildren.