Arms Buff Called ‘Immature’ but Wins Probation

A Northridge man described in a court document as “an immature dummy and a likable kid” was placed on five years’ probation Friday and ordered to perform 2,000 hours of community service for possessing a huge cache of explosives, weapons and ammunition at his house during the 1984 Olympics.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael A. Tynan also imposed a 90-day jail sentence on Richard Max Cole, 28, but stayed the sentence until March 19. At that time the judge will determine whether Cole is meeting the terms of his probation, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert P. O’Neill said.

Cole, a gas station attendant, pleaded no contest last July to seven felony counts of possession of explosives and one count each of possessing armor-piercing ammunition and deadly weapons.

Police were led to Cole by John Steven Blackwell, who was arrested while tailing a bus carrying Olympic athletes in a car carrying five homemade bombs. Blackwell, a self-styled anti-terrorist who was eventually sentenced to four years in state prison, said he received the explosives from Cole.

As further conditions of probation, Tynan also ordered Cole to obtain psychological counseling and to refrain from possessing fireworks and explosives.

No Criminal Intent

According to a probation report, police investigators believe that Cole had no criminal intent in storing the explosives. Officer John Leone told the probation officer that the defendant was “an immature dummy and a likable kid but one who displayed no common sense and used poor judgment.”

Even so, Deputy Probation Officer Charles H. Freeman recommended jail time because Cole had created a hazard at his home and had given explosives to Blackwell, “whom he knew had severe emotional problems due to his cocaine addiction and recent divorce.”

Cole told his probation officer he believed that Blackwell intended to detonate the explosives in the desert, the report said.

O’Neill, who urged the judge to send Cole to jail for 90 days, said after the hearing: “He was well aware of the potential catastrophe he had created for himself. He may have been a dummy but he was a knowledgeable one.”

Cole at first “pursued a career in pyrotechnics with a goal of working in a movie studio in the special effects department,” the probation report said.

Coordinated Fireworks Shows

Although that type of work failed to materialize, the probation officer wrote, Cole orchestrated “numerous” pyrotechnic displays for the Boy Scouts of America, an organization he has been involved with since he was 8. Scout representatives filled the courtroom during Friday’s sentencing hearing.

Court documents show that this was Cole’s first offense. He has worked at a gas station in Reseda since 1977 and holds a part-time job with a gunsmith.