Neighborhood Evacuated in Probe of Murder Plot

Officials declared an emergency Wednesday in a quiet neighborhood where police believe biological waste and illegal weapons were buried by a drug company executive who was at the center of a murder plot when he committed suicide last week.

Residents of 48 homes were evacuated for up to three days and a nearby school was closed as the FBI and local officials prepared to began digging up the backyard of Dr. Larry C. Ford’s house.

Officials said they know of no immediate threat to public health but said that they are concerned the materials could become dangerous when removed and that the yard might be booby-trapped.

Ford apparently shot himself to death the day after Irvine police searched his Woodbridge house in connection with the shooting of his longtime business partner, James Patrick Riley, who survived.

On Friday, officers left Ford’s home with dozens of small jars containing substances they believe are hazardous. Health experts are testing the materials. Detectives said Wednesday that credible informants told them Ford stored more materials, ammunition and possibly machine guns in containers in his backyard and in hidden compartments of his home. X-ray equipment confirmed that containers are buried around Ford’s pool, officials said, and police seized pistols, rifles and shotguns from the home.

Investigators believe the containers hold some type of biological waste that Ford stored as part of his research, and they are concerned that it could be dangerous if it is released into the air. Lt. Sam Allevato said the materials might have been buried for more than a decade.

“If we hit a booby trap or explosive that detonated hazardous materials into the air, we may have a problem,” Allevato said. “The things have been buried there for who knows how long.”

Ford was considered a top researcher in infectious diseases and a national leader in the fight against the spread of AIDS before co-founding Biofem Inc. with Riley. The company is developing a female contraceptive aimed at preventing AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Ford’s attorney, Stephen Klarich, said his client also worked earlier in his career for the federal government in the field of chemical warfare.

Ford’s family had no idea that containers were buried in the backyard, police said.

Meanwhile, an Orange County grand jury summoned Klarich to testify in connection with the attempted killing of Riley, who was shot in the face by a masked gunman outside his Irvine Spectrum office Feb. 28.

A Los Angeles businessman was charged last week with driving the gunman from the scene, but police have yet to identify the gunman or the possible mastermind behind what they say was a financially motivated plot.

Citing attorney-client privilege, Klarich said he would refuse to tell the grand jury what Ford told him in private in the days before his death. Klarich left the Santa Ana courthouse Wednesday afternoon without meeting with the grand jury.

Earlier Wednesday, students and their parents who arrived at Springbrook Elementary School near Ford’s home were told the campus was closed until Monday.

“Luckily, it was raining and a lot of parents came with their children to school,” said Principal Pat Mulhaupt.

Students who arrived without their parents were kept at school until the afternoon, when teachers handed out fliers to parents explaining the closure. Police intend to use the school as a staging area for the excavations.

During the afternoon, police officers went door to door in the upscale neighborhood, telling residents within a 300-foot radius of Ford’s home that they had to leave by 9 p.m.

The city is paying for rooms at the nearby Hyatt Regency Hotel for anyone without other accommodations, officials said. Police told residents they could bring cats and birds to the hotel. Dogs must be put in kennels or taken to the Irvine animal shelter for free housing until Saturday.

As worried neighbors hurriedly gathered pets and personal items, officials tried to allay concerns while ensuring that everyone left.

“We don’t want to create a fear factor in the community,” said Irvine Mayor Christina Shea. “Our No. 1 priority is the health and safety of our residents.”

FBI and Orange County Fire Authority hazardous-materials teams will work with Irvine police and the Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad on the excavation.

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Times staff writer Jeff Gottlieb and Times Community News reporter Kristiane Ridgeway contributed to this story.