CHP Arrests Man After Finding Explosives in Home

A West Los Angeles man who was arrested on charges of attempting to burglarize the California Highway Patrol Museum in Sacramento on Monday was arrested Thursday on suspicion of possessing illegal explosives, authorities said.

A search of Larry Franklin’s residence in the 3200 block of Hutchinson Avenue by CHP investigators found several explosive devices, said CHP spokesman Rhett Price. He would not comment on the nature of the confiscated articles.

Franklin, a 50-year-old plumber, was being held on $1 million bail, said Price.

He was arrested Monday for allegedly trying to break into the CHP museum, whose collection includes submachine guns and old rifles, Price said. He posted bail and was released.

Los Angeles police on Tuesday evacuated Franklin’s Westside neighborhood for more than six hours. They found 11 guns and five grenades that were later determined to be inert, Price said. Another search of the home Thursday resulted in Franklin’s arrest.

In an interview Tuesday, Franklin, admitted to serving jail time in the 1960s for burglary, but denied attempting to break into the museum. He said he kept some of the confiscated weapons as collector’s items and others for self-defense after having his home broken into four times in six years.