2 Plead Not Guilty in Explosion That Maimed Officer

Two men pleaded not guilty Friday to felony charges in the explosion of a homemade bomb that maimed the hand of a Burbank police officer.

Andrew S. Thompson, 25, of North Hollywood was arraigned in Burbank Municipal Court on charges of possessing materials with the intent of manufacturing an explosive device, said Al Albergate, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Joseph W. Snow, 46, of Burbank was charged with possession of a destructive device and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, Albergate said.

Each man is being held at the Burbank Jail on $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled March 31.

Three other people arrested after the incident were released from the Burbank Jail on Friday. Albergate said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them.

Snow is a resident of a trailer park in the 2200 block of North Hollywood Way, where Officer Gabriel Alvarez investigated a report of a bomb Tuesday afternoon. When Alvarez picked up the device, which resembled a cartridge used in pellet guns, it exploded in his right hand, police said.

The next day, Thompson was arrested after police said they found materials that could be used to make bombs in his apartment in the 11800 block of Kittridge Street.

Alvarez, 41, lost three fingers on his right hand and suffered shrapnel wounds in his left hand, chest and abdomen. He was listed in stable condition Friday at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.