Advertisement

O.C. Fireworks Cache Found

Share
Times Staff Writer

A Buena Park man was arrested Thursday after an anonymous phone call led police to a 2,000-pound cache of illegal fireworks in his apartment, authorities said.

Rudy Paul Olivas, 42, was expected to be charged with felony possession of illegal fireworks for sale in the wake of the discovery at his three-bedroom apartment on the 6400 block of Burnham Avenue, authorities said.

“Every room, plus the garage, was filled with boxes each weighing 60 to 70 pounds, all filled with fireworks,” said Sgt. Gary Worrall, a spokesman for the Police Department. “You couldn’t see the walls because there were so many boxes.”

Advertisement

Said police Lt. Ken Coovert: “It was mostly mortar and rocket-type fireworks. It appears they were for resale.

“Our biggest concern was for public safety.”

Police said they were led to the address by an anonymous call about 6:40 p.m. After discovering the cache, Coovert said, officers summoned the Orange County Sheriff Department’s bomb squad to inspect the material and haul it away.

“These were the ones that aren’t manufactured safely, the kinds that fly up and explode in the air,” Worrall said of the fireworks that were found.

Olivas’ bail was set at $20,000.

Advertisement