CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / BOYLE HEIGHTS
Members of the San Gabriel Valley Arson Explosives Task Force seized more than half a ton of illegal fireworks from a residential neighborhood, averting a potentially explosive and deadly situation, authorities said Friday.
“Given the amount of fireworks in the residence, and the densely populated area . . . we could have had a detonation of all that material, and it would have destroyed a good portion of the block, or several houses,” said Assistant Chief John Kabala of the Alhambra Fire Department.
The investigation began after arson investigators from the department found dangerous fireworks advertised for sale on Craigslist, according to Kabala.
A meeting was set up, Kabala said, and investigators arrested a man and woman after the illegal sale at the designated location Thursday morning.
About 100 pounds of illegal fireworks were recovered from the trunk of a car, Kabala said. Investigators then obtained search warrants for locations in South Los Angeles, Boyle Heights and Lincoln Heights.
A search of the Boyle Heights address, in the 550 block of South Mathews Street and directly opposite a middle school and high school, turned up the huge cache. “It was stored all over the house,” Kabala said.
About 1,200 pounds of fireworks were seized during the overall operation, which included investigators from Alhambra, South Pasadena, Monterey Park, Sierra Madre and the California Highway Patrol.
-- Ann M. Simmons
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