TEMPLE CITY : Booby-Trapped Pipe Bomb Injures Deputy; Man Held
A Temple City man was arrested for investigation of making and possessing explosive devices after a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy checking out reports of explosions was slightly injured early Thursday when a booby-trapped pipe bomb detonated, authorities said.
Michael Johnson, 33, surrendered to deputies following the explosion, after his wife, with their 10-day-old daughter, ran from the family’s home in the 500 block of Doreen Avenue, Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Hauser said.
Johnson, who could face a possible attempted murder charge, was apparently despondent over family matters, officers said.
Deputy Jeffrey Peterson responded at about 3:30 a.m. after Johnson’s wife called the Temple City station to report that her husband was exploding pipe bombs.
Peterson sustained minor cuts on his arm when a bomb fashioned from explosive material and PVC detonated at the base of a tree. The deputy had activated a “trip line” as he approached the house.
Deputies said four pipe bombs exploded outside the house. Five similar devices that had been hidden by Johnson’s wife to keep her husband from using them were recovered in the house by the bomb squad.
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