Olympics ‘Street Warrior’ Pleads Guilty to Weapons Charge

A Reseda man arrested last summer for carrying a home-made bomb in his car while following a busload of Olympic athletes pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge of possession of a destructive device in a public place.

John Steven Blackwell, 38, who told police after his arrest that he was a “street warrior” who followed Olympic buses to protect athletes from would-be terrorists, withdrew a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity after two court-appointed psychiatrists examined him and concluded that he was legally sane.

Blackwell also pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession of an illegal martial arts device called a throwing star, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald S. Coen said.

He faces up to six years and eight months in prison, Coen said. Superior Court Judge Robert T. Altman is scheduled to sentence him March 15.

A driver and security guard aboard a Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee bus became alarmed last July 31 when they noticed Blackwell following them as they transported athletes from the site of an equestrian competition at Santa Anita race track to the Olympic Village at USC. They notified law enforcement authorities by radio, and Blackwell was arrested after a search of his car turned up explosive devices.

Blackwell was on probation stemming from a 1983 conviction for possession of a destructive device--a booby trap he had rigged, apparently to deter burglars, at a Woodland Hills jewelry store where he worked.

He told police that he obtained explosives from his friend, Richard Max Cole, 26, of Northridge. Police later raided Cole’s house and seized what they described as the largest cache of explosives ever found in Los Angeles. Cole is awaiting trial on multiple charges of possessing explosives.