Fake Mortar Round Gets Marines in Real Trouble

Military police at Camp Pendleton on Wednesday were questioning two Marines whose car failed to stop at the Border Patrol checkpoint along Interstate 5 and was later found to have a dummy mortar round in the trunk, authorities said.

The California Highway Patrol closed the northbound lanes of the busy freeway for 35 minutes as a precaution while military explosives experts responded to the incident.

The device was identified as a simulated mortar round used in training exercises, said Staff Sgt. Claudia Nelson, a Pendleton spokeswoman. The mock shell looks real but has no explosive charge, Nelson said.

The two Marines were taken into custody by military police for questioning, Nelson said. The CHP said a third man was also in the car, but it was not clear whether he was held.

The CHP identified the three occupants as: Margarito Bueno Jr., 22, of Arizona; Epifanio Rodarte-Gurrola, 20, of Nevada; and Edgar Arreguin, 22, of Oxnard. The military would not say which of the three were being held for questioning.

Neither was it clear why the dummy shell was in the car or where the three were headed.

According to the Border Patrol, the car, heading north on Interstate 5, failed to yield at the checkpoint south of San Clemente about 11 a.m. A Border Patrol vehicle chased the car, which pulled over within a few miles, said Salvador Zamora, a Border Patrol spokesman. Agents received permission to open the trunk and found the suspect device, Zamora said.