The State - News from March 22, 1988

Police explosives experts used a robot to remove a pair of bomb-like devices from two Sacramento supermarkets. Authorities said the devices were part of a plan to extort money from the stores. The supermarkets were evacuated for several hours after a man phoned in a threat, saying he would detonate the bombs if receipts from the two stores were not given to him, said Police Sgt. Bob Burns. One device, made up of cylinders, wires and an antenna, was discovered in a wicker basket in a Lucky store in south Sacramento. Police used a robot equipped with a mechanical arm and TV monitor to remove the device. “It was a hoax device,” Burns said. “It did not contain any explosives.” A second, identical device was found in a Raley’s supermarket a few miles away. The robot was again used to remove it.