Families Leave as Irvine Probes Executive’s Yard

Residents of a quiet Irvine neighborhood hastily packed their bags and abandoned their homes Wednesday evening as police prepared to dig up the backyard of a drug company executive in search of biological waste and illegal weapons.

The evacuation came after the city declared a local emergency in the upscale Woodbridge section, the latest twist in the mystery surrounding last week’s attempted murder of an Irvine businessman that is now being investigated by the Orange County Grand Jury.

Residents of 48 homes were required to leave for what may be as long as three days. A nearby school will be closed as the FBI and local officials unearth Dr. Larry C. Ford’s backyard.

Ford committed suicide last week, police said, a day after detectives searched his house in connection with the shooting of his longtime business partner, James Patrick Riley.

As neighbors struggled Wednesday to kennel dogs, gather essential items and rearrange schedules, they expressed worry about what might lurk in Ford’s backyard.

“It’s pretty miserable,” said Arie Goldberg, who arrived at the Hyatt hotel on Wednesday night with his wife, 13-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. “I feel like a refugee. You’re evacuated from your home, and you can’t get back in and you feel pretty detached. I hope it goes away and we can get back to normal life.”

Neighbor Marsha Kendall agreed. “We hope they find nothing,” she said before checking into the hotel with her children. “All of our neighbors are here. It’s a tight neighborhood.”

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

On Friday, officers left Ford’s home with dozens of small jars containing substances they believe are hazardous. As health experts conduct tests on the material, 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.

Top Researcher in Infectious Diseases

Investigators believe the containers hold some type of biological waste that Ford stored as part of his research. They are concerned that the materials could become dangerous when airborne. 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 AIDS before co-founding Biofem Inc. with Riley. The company is developing a female contraceptive aimed at preventing AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Irvine Mayor Christina L. Shea said police told her that Ford fit the profile of a survivalist and that authorities were considering that as part of their investigation. Police, however, declined Wednesday to provide new details about the investigation.

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

The planned excavation of Ford’s backyard comes as Orange County grand jurors summoned Klarich to testify in connection with the attempted assassination of Riley, who was wounded in the face when a masked gunman shot him outside his Irvine Spectrum office. He is recovering from the gunshot and is in hiding, Biofem’s attorney said.

A Los Angeles businessman was charged last week with driving the getaway car during the Feb. 28 shooting, but police have yet to name a gunman or possible mastermind behind what they say was a financially motivated plot.

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

Meanwhile, Ford’s neighbors greeted the mandatory evacuation with a mixture of resignation and concern.

“It’s so exhausting,” Joanne Healy said as she returned from boarding her dog in Santa Ana Heights.

Healy and her family plan to spend the next few days at the hotel but said her thoughts remain with Ford’s wife and children. “I just feel really badly for the family,” she said.

Lauren O’Grady, an 18-year-old student at Irvine High School, said the evacuation is unsettling. “At first, it was really sad. Now it’s really scary.”

Earlier Wednesday, students who arrived at Springbrook Elementary School with their parents were told to return home while the campus is closed during the search of Ford’s Foxboro home nearby. Police intend to use the school as a staging area for the excavations.

During the afternoon, police officers trudged from 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 accommodations, officials said. The Police Department is paying for the rooms using its own funds.

Officers 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.

City officials tried to allay fears while ensuring that everyone left.

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

Ford Described as Good Samaritan

Officials said police used X-ray equipment to confirm that containers had been buried around Ford’s backyard pool. Clear substances seized from the home on Friday are still being analyzed by the FBI, according to Irvine Police Chief Charles Brobeck. Police said they also seized hunting weapons from Ford’s home, including an undisclosed number of pistols, rifles and shotguns.

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

A few neighbors gathered and watched in amazement Wednesday as a crush of media and city officials gathered outside Ford’s house. Some expressed disbelief at the evacuation.

“I don’t think Larry Ford would do anything to put his family or neighbors in any kind of jeopardy,” said neighbor and Mormon bishop Bruce Haglund.

Haglund, who knew Ford for 12 years, described him as a good Samaritan who was dedicated to his church and his family. Haglund questioned police claims that Ford may have buried a weapons cache and hazardous chemicals in the backyard.

Haglund eulogized Ford at a funeral service Wednesday morning as a brilliant and kind man who marched to his own drumbeat. In a subsequent interview, Haglund remembered his friend as a man unconcerned about social convention and a doctor who often treated patients for free.

“He was a contrarian--an out-of-the-box thinker,” Haglund said. “He always wore black Converse All Stars. He wore them in church, surgery, everywhere he went. He was an unusual person.”

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Times staff writers H.G. Reza and Jeff Gottlieb and Times Community News reporter Kristiane Ridgway contributed to this report.

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Area Evacuated

Residents of 48 homes were evacuated and a school temporarily closed so police could dig up the backyard of Dr. Larry C. Ford, a pharmaceutical executive who killed himself March 2.