Explosion Climaxed Violent Prank : 5 Sentenced in Dynamiting of Old Van

It was a dramatic send-off for the 1972 Chevrolet van. Its owner and some friends drove the clunker out to a San Diego County forest early last year, pumped bullets into its sides and windows, and then blew it up with 15 pounds of dynamite.

They took pictures of themselves standing on the wreckage, some shots showing the smoke wafting from the charred metal. Then, they took off in another car, leaving the mess for someone else to clean up.

But the three men and two women Wednesday finally paid for the prank with court appearances, probated sentences and fines for felony charges of possessing a destructive device and misdemeanor counts of vandalism.

Convicted of the felonies were Terry Logan, 29, of Spring Valley, and David Alan Stahl, 27, of El Cajon. Municipal Judge Frederick L. Link gave Logan five years probation. Stahl received three years probation, a $1,000 fine and 200 hours of community service work.

Those convicted of misdemeanors were Logan’s wife, Shirley Ann, 26; Cynthia Elizabeth Stahl, 27, and Dale Pontow, 27, of El Cajon. All three received two years probation and fines ranging from $100 to $500.

Everyone appeared at Wednesday’s hearing except Terry Logan, who is serving a four-year federal prison term on an unrelated weapons charge, said Michael McGlinn, his attorney.

According to reports filed in the case, the five people destroyed the van on Feb. 5, 1984, in the Cleveland National Forest.

Apparently, it was Terry Logan’s idea to pump bullets into the van and then blow it up with dynamite, which he brought along without telling the others. The wreckage of the blast scattered over an acre, and before setting off the dynamite, the women walked away with their two dogs because the animals would have been startled by the blast, the report said.

“What happened was a spur of the moment decision to junk this one vehicle,” McGlinn told the court. “They went to one area of the county where shooting was allowed. Based on the immaturity of my client, they decided to blow it (the van) up.”

Law enforcement officials were able to trace the ownership of the charred van to the Stahls. An El Cajon man who had been in the forest cutting wood at the time confirmed to authorities that the Stahls were present during the explosion, the reports say.

They searched the Stahls’ house, located on Seca Street, and found a cache of guns in a bedroom the couple said was used by Logan. Police found a loaded 12-gauge shotgun under the Stahls’ bed and two pistols in their closet, along with a safe in the garage which contained $200,000 in jewelry and $164,810 in cash, the report said.

Police also discovered pictures the men and women had taken of themselves shooting at the van and standing on the wreckage. The pictures allowed authorities to identify Pontow, an aerospace engineer supervisor who lives on Estes Street in El Cajon.

David Stahl Wednesday declined comment on the incident, but outside the courtroom, Pontow offered an explanation of why the group blew up the van and then took pictures.

“Do you take pictures at a picnic?” he said. “We were out for a shooting exercise on a Sunday afternoon.”