2 Charged With Illegal Storage of Explosives in Northridge Shop

Two Van Nuys residents were charged Thursday with storing ammunition and military-type explosives without the required state permits in their Northridge ammunition shop, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Wyant John Lamont, 56, and his former wife, Jessica Milberger, 51, were expected to be arraigned today in San Fernando Municipal Court, said detectives and the pair’s attorney. Milberger was to be arraigned on a charge of illegally possessing destructive devices at her business, U.S. Arms and Munitions Co., situated in a small industrial park on the 18600 block of Parthenia Street.

Lamont, who worked with her, was to face charges of possession and sale of the explosives and a charge of illegal possession of a handgun by an ex-felon.

The charges stem from a raid on the shop last week. Employees of adjoining businesses were evacuated as nine tons of ammunition and explosives were removed to an undisclosed location by Los Angeles police.

Surrender Expected

The two were released from Van Nuys Jail on Tuesday but were expected to surrender for arraignment today, police said.

City and state ordinances require that anyone possessing more than 500 pounds of small-arms ammunition store it in an explosive vault--a self-contained masonry-block or concrete room, usually small--said Capt. Jon Hall, legal liaison for the Los Angeles City Fire Department’s fire prevention bureau. No more than 500 pounds of ammunition may be stored in one vault, he said.

Police said the large store of ammunition was not placed in protective vaults in the garage-like shop.

A .32-caliber revolver was found by police under the front seat of Lamont’s car during the raid, and three other handguns were confiscated from Lamont’s house, said Detective John Leone. Police said Lamont was barred from possessing pistols because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 1972 of illegally possessing a machine gun. He served 18 months at the Terminal Island federal prison.

Explosives Listed

Leone listed the materials seized as 17,700 pounds of .50-caliber blanks and an undisclosed number of grenade simulators--which mimic the sound and appearance of an exploding hand grenade for training purposes but are not as dangerous--along with blasting caps, 75-millimeter howitzer blanks, an incendiary grenade and other ammunition.

“In case of fire, that amount of ammunition would create a definite hazard, possibly one hell of an explosion,” Leone declared.

Hall, of the Fire Department, disagreed. “It would accelerate a fire but it’s not going to detonate,” he said.

The detective said the couple sold the explosives to the public and other dealers, some of whom may not have had proper state and federal permits to purchase them. He said there was no evidence that the explosives were being sold to terrorist groups or foreign governments.

‘Matter of Interpretation’

The pair’s attorney, Leo Grizzaffi, called the case “a matter of license interpretation.”

“They’re a legitimate business,” he said.

Grizzaffi earlier conceded that the company may not have had all the permits and licenses required by government agencies. He said Thursday that they were in the process of transferring licenses to the Northridge location, where they had moved earlier this year from another location in the San Fernando Valley after a fire.

Leone refused to discuss the investigation leading to the arrests, except to say it revealed that Milberger’s business did not have “proper state permits to possess many of the items seized.”

“We do get aggressive when we deal with illegal possession of explosives,” Leone said. “We took immediate action to safeguard the public.”