Tip Leads Agents to 3rd Suspect in Sale of Explosives

Federal agents on Thursday arrested a storekeeper near Lone Pine, Calif., on charges he set up the sale of more than 10 pounds of powerful plastic explosive to undercover agents in Woodland Hills.

Danny Roman, 40, was arrested at a convenience store he operates near his home in Olancha, about 160 miles northeast of Los Angeles, said Charles Pratt, group supervisor for the Los Angeles office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Two other men were arrested Wednesday on charges of offering to sell undercover federal agents C-4 explosive, nine electric blasting caps, two silencer-equipped pistols and eight ounces of liquid PCP.

An informant in Fresno provided agents with the name of Roman, who later gave federal agents a telephone number for Edward Steven Pajak and John Robert Sargent, Pratt said.

After a telephone conversation Monday, undercover federal agents met Pajak, 37, and Sargent, 31, Wednesday evening in a Denny’s restaurant across the street from Taft High School on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills. After negotiating a purchase, they went to inspect the goods in the trunk of a car that had been left in the high school parking lot, Pratt said.

The agents, aided by Los Angeles Police Department detectives, arrested Pajak and Sargent after they were shown the explosives, silencer-equipped pistols and PCP, Pratt said. The two men were carrying four loaded handguns but did not resist, he said.

Pajak, of Tujunga, and Sargent, who gave an address in Simi Valley but who authorities now believe lives in Reseda, offered to sell the package of arms and drugs for $7,000, Pratt said.

They described it as a “sample” and “indicated they had more, but we have not been able to corroborate that,” he said.

Little is known about the background of the three suspects, Pratt said, adding that they are not known weapons dealers. Investigators were trying to determine how the weapons were obtained, he said.

Authorities believe the weapons were stolen but have not been able to confirm that, said Nolan Douglas, the bureau’s special agent in charge of the Northern California district, which includes Fresno. C-4 is manufactured solely for military use, Pratt said.

When the explosive was found in the car trunk Wednesday, the lead wires of some of the blasting caps had been left exposed nearby, Pratt said. Authorities blocked off a quarter-mile stretch of Ventura Boulevard, several nearby streets and the exit and entry ramps of the Ventura Freeway for more than two hours while the Los Angeles police bomb squad removed the explosive for analysis, LAPD Lt. Dan Cooke said.

Sargent, who used the alias John David McCandless, and Pajak were arraigned Thursday before U.S. Magistrate James J. Penne on charges of conspiracy to possess and transfer illegal firearms, illegal explosives and narcotics. They were being held Thursday night at the Federal Correctional Facility at Terminal Island, in lieu of $50,000 bond each. Penne scheduled a hearing for Jan. 5, Assistant U.S. Atty. Maurice Leiter said.

Roman was expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles on similar charges, Pratt said.

Roman is scheduled to appear in court Monday in Inyo County on unrelated drug and weapons charges. According to Inyo County Justice Court records, Roman was arrested April 8 in Lone Pine on charges of carrying a concealed, loaded handgun and a small amount of marijuana in a car.