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Sheriff’s Robot Passes Its First Bomb Test

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A pipe bomb found in a mailbox in La Verne was safely detonated after being carried to an open field by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s new remote-controlled robot, officials said Saturday.

The bomb squad was called in shortly after 8 p.m. Friday when a resident of Williams Avenue reported finding the 1-by-12-inch pipe bomb, said Sgt. Bob Olmsted.

“Andros,” the department’s new $104,000 robot unveiled last week, plucked the bomb from the mailbox and carried it to a nearby field, where it was detonated by bomb squad members, Olmsted said.

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Deputies have not established a motive for the planting of the bomb, Olmsted said.

It was the first use of the robot, which has two on-board television cameras, he said. Operators send commands to the tank-like device through a 328-foot electric cord.

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