LOS ANGELES : Bail Raised for Owner of Firearms, Explosives

A federal judge Monday ordered bail increased to $350,000 for Joseph Yohanna, the Valencia man accused of keeping an arsenal of firearms and military explosives in his home.

The order, by U.S. District Judge Lourdes G. Baird in Los Angeles, followed arguments by prosecutors that Yohanna is a danger to the community and should not be freed--and by Yohanna’s attorney that he simply collected the weapons and was not going to sell or use them.

Bail was originally set at $250,000 after Yohanna’s arrest on Dec. 21. He is accused of possessing three unregistered machine guns--an Uzi, MAC-10 and CAR-15--and may face additional charges stemming from the other items seized by federal agents.

Eight claymore mines containing 25 to 30 pounds of C-4 plastic explosive, two incendiary devices, eight silencers, nine handguns, two shotguns and a rifle were confiscated during the search, authorities said. Also found were another pound of C-4 explosive, a 1/4-pound block of TNT, 40 feet of detonating cord and 13 fuse igniters.

Yohanna served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman from 1980 to 1983. He became an Army reservist in April and had applied for the elite Special Forces program operated through the 12th Special Forces Group based in Los Alamitos.