Hollister
– A routine traffic stop ended with a bang on Friday when San
Benito County Sheriff’s deputies found a handmade pipe bomb at the
home of a local man on parole for manufacturing
methamphetamine.
Hollister – A routine traffic stop ended with a bang on Friday when San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies found a handmade pipe bomb at the home of a local man on parole for manufacturing methamphetamine.
The pipe bomb was found during a parole search of a home in the 1,000 block of Santa Ana Road after the resident, 37-year-old Eric Vickery, had been found in violation of his parole, said San Benito County Sheriff’s Lt. Roy Iler. Vickery had been arrested on a parole violation earlier that day when a car he was riding in with two other men was stopped. The initial stop was conducted when a deputy noticed that it didn’t have a front license plate, Iler said. The deputy found two glass methamphetamine pipes and a small amount of the drug in the car. After calling Vickery’s parole officer, deputies conducted a search of his home, Iler said. On the side of the home, deputies found an M1 rifle, several hundred rounds of illegal ammunition and a homemade pipe bomb, Iler said. The ammunition contained military-style tracer rounds, which are illegal under California law, according to Iler.
“People complain about getting pulled over for minor traffic violations, but there is a reason we do this kind of thing,” Iler said Monday. “This started with a car that had no front license plate and ended with us finding an extremely dangerous explosive.”
Iler and several other Sheriff’s officials were called to the home after the pipe bomb was found. Officials called the Santa Clara County Bomb Squad for assistance. Squad members used a robot to retrieve the bomb, Iler said. The bomb was then surrounded with sandbags and safely detonated without incident, Iler said. It contained hundreds of small metal BBs and was filled with gunpowder, Iler said.
“Bombs are incredibly dangerous, even when they are made by professionals,” Iler said. “So when you find one that was made at home by someone under the influence of methamphetamine, that’s scary.”
Vickery denied making or possessing the pipe bomb, Iler said. He was arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of explosives, according to jail personal. Vickery is being held at the San Benito County Jail without bail.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
