SIMI VALLEY : Man Arrested After Bomb Found in Van
East county sheriff’s deputies investigating a suspicious vehicle discovered a homemade pipe bomb in the back of a van, authorities said Wednesday.
Deputies Mark Englander and John Smith stopped in the 6700 block of Santa Susana Pass Road about 4 a.m. Wednesday after they noticed that the registration tags on a parked van appeared to have been altered.
During the inspection, William Patrick McGinley approached the deputies, asking about their inquiry. The deputies identified McGinley as the owner of the van and determined that the registration tags had been forged, officials said.
McGinley, 42, of Simi Valley later gave deputies permission to search the van, and they found the homemade pipe bomb in the cargo area, investigators said.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad was called in to dismantle the device, which was rendered safe and is now being held in evidence, deputies said. No one was injured.
McGinley was arrested on suspicion of possessing an explosive device and forging vehicle registration tags--both felonies, a Ventura County Jail commander said.
He remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Ventura County Municipal Court today or Friday.
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