Authorities Plan to Arrest Man Hurt in Blast

Investigators sought an arrest warrant Wednesday for a 40-year-old Ojai man who remained hospitalized after a small homemade bomb blew up in his hands.

Mark David Adams was listed in stable condition at Ventura County Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. He had been transferred from Ojai Valley Hospital early Wednesday.

According to investigators, Adams had complained of blindness after Tuesday’s blast, but hospital officials declined to release information about his injuries.

After he is released from the hospital, investigators plan to arrest Adams and book him into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of illegally possessing explosives, said Sheriff’s Det. Joe Braga. Investigators have not yet determined why Adams was allegedly making the small bombs, Braga added.

“But there’s no doubt in my mind that he was building these devices,” he said.

Adams has had several past run-ins with the law, including felony convictions in October 1995 for possessing and using controlled substances, for which he received a 90-day jail sentence, according to county court records. He was on probation for the drug convictions.

A friend of Adams, 46-year-old Kathy Conley, was arrested Tuesday evening after the blast on suspicion of possessing cocaine, Braga said. There has been no indication she was involved in making explosives, he said.

Adams’ left hand was injured in the 3:20 p.m. explosion at Conley’s home in Del Francia Mobile Estates in the 1000 block of Loma Drive. His thumb was nearly severed, and he suffered second- and third-degree burns on his face, witnesses said.

“He’s very fortunate he’s not dead,” Braga said. “Anything that explodes like that, you can be killed.”

Firefighters arrived shortly after the blast and found Adams lying on the ground. When a pair of devices the size of golf balls were found nearby, sheriff’s deputies evacuated the immediate area and the bomb squad was called in. A container of flash powder was found among Adams’ possessions, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Chuck Buttell.

A neighbor, Rita Braun, said Wednesday that although other neighbors said they have heard explosions at Conley’s trailer in the past several months, she had never seen Adams with explosives.

“I’m just very, very sorry that this person was allowed to come into this place,” Braun said.

Adams had been staying with Conley at the Del Francia park for a couple of years, Braun added. A spokeswoman for the park confirmed that Conley is a resident and that Adams was her guest.