Sylmar Man Held After Garage Explosives Force Block Evacuation

A Sylmar man was arrested after police evacuated residents of the block around his house Friday to remove as much as 70 pounds of explosives discovered in his garage, authorities said.

Whitney Nelson, 37, was being held at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division Station on suspicion of possessing destructive devices, Police Officer Mike Schwehr said.

A telephone caller reported the presence of the explosives to police about 11 a.m., Sgt. Ken Dionne said. Dionne would not identify the caller.

Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said officials initially reported finding two cases holding 70 pounds of unstable, 9-year-old dynamite in the man’s garage in the 14300 block of Polk Street in Sylmar.

Police said the explosives included one case of dynamite and 50 pounds of C-4 plastic explosive.

Police Department bomb squad technicians removed the explosives and set the dynamite afire in a hole they dug in Sylmar Park, just down the street from the house.

Police cordoned off the park and evacuated the immediate neighborhood before igniting the devices, authorities said.

No one was injured, said Lt. Patrick Metoyer of the department’s Criminal Conspiracy Unit.

Residents were allowed to return to their homes by 4:45 p.m., police said.

The plastic explosive was removed to a bomb squad facility.

Police said they had not determined why Nelson possessed the explosives.

If convicted on the felony charge, Nelson could be sentenced to state prison for two to six years.