VENTURA : Explosives Found in Park Dumpster

Two homemade explosive devices, a military blasting cap, a gas grenade and two dummy hand grenades were found Tuesday in a bag that had been left in a dumpster at a Ventura park.

Responding to an anonymous call from a transient who discovered the bag, Ventura police arrived at Eastwood Park, 100 Poli St., about 10 a.m. and found the explosives in the dumpster, Sgt. Douglas Auldridge said. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad removed the explosives after X-raying them.

Auldridge said the area near the dumpster was cordoned off for more than three hours while officers tested and retrieved the devices.

While the dummy grenades were found to be hollow, Ventura Police Cpl. Bryan Roberts said the homemade devices were dangerous and could have caused severe injuries.

“You’re dealing with explosives and you really never know what’s going to happen,” Roberts said. “The handmade explosives had fuses sticking out of them. There were shotgun shells, .22-caliber bullets and gunpowder inside.”