2011年12月27日 星期二

The Mysterious California Case of a Bank Robber Turned Explosives Hoarder

Last year authorities arrested George Jakubec, a 54-year-old Serbic émigré, for possessing the single largest hoard of homemade explosives ever found in the U.S.

Investigators searching his rental home in the sleepy southern California town of Escondido found a startling stash of pentaerythritol tentanitrate, or PETN, an explosive used by Al Qaeda terrorists.

Jakubec was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison for multiple armed bank robberies in a plea bargain in which the bomb-making charges were dropped. But he admitted in court to possessing explosives and the materials to make them and to committing two additional bank robberies. Investigators say they found no link between Jakubec and any known terrorist network.

Prosecutors may have determined that an intent to harm others would be too difficult to prove in court, and so they offered him a plea agreement.External Hemorrhoids are those that occur below the dentate line. Jakubec’s reason for possessing massive quantities of explosives remain a mystery.Bathroom Floor tiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles.

So explosive a substance, federal authorities implemented full body scans at airports to find PETN, a prime ingredient in U.S. military ordinance, which was used by the unsuccessful shoe bomber Richard Reid.

San Diego County sheriff’s deputies removed nine pounds of the chemical hexamethylene tiperoxide diamine (HMTD) from Jakubec’s home, which they described as a “bomb factory.” HMTD is extremely sensitive to heat, friction and shock. Less than a gram can cause serious injuries. Investigators also discovered large amounts of sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, detonators, grenade casings, hand guns, molds of human faces, and wigs.MDC Mould specialized of Injection moulds,Buy oil paintings for sale online.

Jakubec was arrested after a gardener named Mario Garcia suffered extensive injuries from an explosion while working in Jakubec’s yard. Investigators arriving at the scene found the home so cluttered with explosives and debris that bomb experts deemed it unsafe to enter. And they could not use robots because many of the rooms were impassible. Neighbors were evacuated, and then-Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency to contain the potential disaster. Crews erected a 16-foot-high, 75-foot-long fence around the property to prepare for a controlled burn of the entire home.

I interviewed Lt. Commander Mark Milton of the Navy’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit to learn why investigators determined Jakubec’s home needed to be demolished. “If there was a lot of debris in the home and the chemicals had fallen onto the floor or leached into surrounding materials,” he told me, “it would be unsafe to walk across the floor to remove those materials. The house, carpet, floor boards, everything, would have to be removed and destroyed piece by piece.”

Milton said that burning provides a safe and effective way to destroy explosives: “The bomb squad will likely use an accelerant such as fuel oil or diesel that can spread over the area, ignite evenly, and incinerate the contaminated material quickly before it can explode.”

A hoarder’s worst nightmare—no more stuff! Jakubec’s estranged wife asked for permission to enter the home to retrieve personal items. Because Jakubec’s lawyer claimed the house held exculpatory evidence,Promat solid RUBBER MATS are the softest mats on the market! authorities were faced with an unprecedented problem. If they allowed anyone in to get clothing or sentimental items, they’d risk lives. If they burned down the house, they would destroy a houseful of evidence. Investigators retrieved computers and other evidence, but photos taken at the scene revealed a chaotic mess. Authorities destroyed the home in a controlled burn in early December of 2010 at a cost of $541,000. A hearing is scheduled this month to determine restitution.

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