Bomb Squad Blows Up Grenade In Angels

A live grenade was safely detonated early Saturday morning in Angels Camp just off Greenhorn Creek Road near the far end of the driving range.

The Angels Camp Police Department received a call around 9 p.m. Friday, reporting the device and its location, Police Chief Tony Tacheira said.

The report was made more as an advisement and was not a threat, Tacheira said, although he did not wish to release more details about the call since the case is still under investigation.

When officers arrived on the scene they discovered the grenade, a standard military-type device, lying 3 to 4 feet from the road. The safety pin was missing, and the detonator appeared to be intact.

Sheriff´s Capt. Clay Hawkins and Deputy Phil Ross from the county´s Explosives Ordinance Team arrived on the scene and decided that, rather than move the grenade, it would be safer to detonate it at the site, Tacheira said.

After taking steps to eliminate the chance of damage or injury, crews detonated the grenade at about 1 a.m. Saturday, Tacheira said.

This is the second explosive discovered and disposed of in Angels Camp in four months.

Officers found a stick of dynamite armed with a blasting cap Dec. 30, 2003, in a storage building next to the residence of Curtis Dudschus in Big Horn Mobile Home Park.

That device was safely disarmed at the scene.

Dudschus is presently awaiting indictment on federal charges for the June 30, 2003, bombing of the county Government Center. (See related story).

Saturday´s incident was also attended by San Andreas Ambulance and the Angels Camp Fire Department.

Police Chief Tacheira praised the work of Hawkins and Ross, noting they handled themselves professionally under very dangerous circumstance.

Calaveras Enterprise story by Craig Koscho. For more Calaveras news, click: calaverasenterprise.com