Bomb house goes up in flames in California

[Mopar151]

Source: NECN/KGTV


(NECN/KGTV) - Authorities today set fire to a Southern California home that they say was so packed with homemade explosives that it was too dangerous to enter.

Remotely controlled explosive devices ignited the home in Escondido.Scores of nearby residents were evacuated earlier. Crews have built a 16-foot firewall and covered it with fire
resistant gel to protect the closest homes.

Investigators say they are still trying to understand what motivated the renter, George Jakubec, to stockpile the material. Jakubec, 54, has pleaded not guilty to charges of making destructive devices and robbing three banks.

The chemicals were found after a gardener accidentally set off
an explosion at the home by stepping on what authorities believe
was a byproduct of HMTD.

Read more: http://www.necn.com/12/09/10/Bomb-house-goes-up-in-flames-in-Californ/landing_nation.html?blockID=369921&feedID=4207

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Another domestic terrorist? Or does he get the "angry white guy" exemption?

[slackmaster]

1. If he had any plans to terrorize anyone they haven't been disclosed yet.

He's admitted to making explosives, and to robbing three banks.

Another domestic terrorist? Or does he get the "angry white guy" exemption?

Or maybe he's a Muslim. ;-)

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. I can hardly wait to see this morans profile.

I've got a hunch, though..........

[slackmaster]

6. Unemployed software developer who immigrated from Serbia

You can fill in the blanks with whatever your imagination provides.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. The details will be forthcoming, I'm sure.

We'll see then.

[NuclearDem]

14. "Unemployed software developer"

[TheMadMonk]

15. Serbs and Croat are famously "angry white guys" just of a different kind.

The characterisation might be unkind to the majority (indeed i'm sure it is). However, those that do make it into the news do tend to do so in a spectactular fashion: from tennis dads, through sports hooliganism, to the attrocities of the latest of a centuries long series of Balkan Wars, these people do not give themselves good press.

My immagination suggests that he has pathologically invested himself in the idea of this conflict, but for one reason or another did not carry through into action. Instead he became a hoarder. One that presented dangers a little more spectacular than the usual hoarder's bycrop of rats and snakes.

[slackmaster]

16. I'm inclined to agree with your diagnosis of "hoarder", i.e. obsessive-compulsive disorder

Until we are given information to indicate that he had some grand plan.

I found some of the photos of things in the house interesting, like the plaster (?) hand grenade mold. That would not be useful for making a weapon, rather it would serve to make fake grenades. But the press presented it in a manner that made it look like some kind of intrinsically evil thing.

(Making a non-functional replica grenade without a permit is illegal in California, FWIW.)

[hlthe2b]

3. The house was rented. Who pays the owner for its destruction?

I hardly think his insurance will cover this?

[Mopar151]

4. If it was Boston

The'd just blame the gas company again......

[slackmaster]

7. The county is not obligated to pay because it was a public health menace

I doubt that insurance will pay, because the destruction resulted from a government action.

The owner is probably going to end up walking away from the roughly $450,000 she has in mortgage debt. The lenders (or whoever presently holds the notes) will eat it.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. when I was researching one of my books, I

used readily available materials (most of which i already had), and created an explosive. It was unstable, and if you wanted to, you could place the crystals on a sidewalk, causing great sound effects when people simply walked by. In larger amounts (tough to do because it was so unstable), it was a viable explosive. I learned many things by doing this. It is damned simple to make a bomb. It is also easy to fuck things up and hurt yourself, even if you are careful. (especially if the raw materials are too old or are of questionable quality).

One thing about many explosives. They need a blast to explode. Mere fire only burns them. In VietNam troops used C4 to cook their food. This was the safest way to get rid of all that stuff, especially the dangerous, unstable crap.

[sulphurdunn]

9. If memory serves me, a doughnut hole

size piece of C-4 would boil a canteen cup of water in less than a minute, which is comparable to the Pocket Rocket propane stove I use for backpacking. Only problem was some guys would pry open a Claymore mine, swipe some C-4 and then pop it back together when they ran low. That behavior had a potential downside if Joe lifted some C-4 without telling Bill who got into it also and didn't tell Jim...well, you get the idea.

[onehandle]

10. It's interesting how the gungeon always shows up for stories like this.

Nothing about guns. Interesting.

[TygrBright]

11. Hardly surprising. An interest in guns and an interest in other things that go "boom"...

...frequently coincide.

I don't get the whole 'fascination with loud noises, expanding gasses, and potentially lethal projectiles' thing, myself, but lots seem to find it endlessly absorbing.

diffidently,
Bright

[slackmaster]

13. Most people laugh after an explosion, as long as nobody gets hurt

I find that almost as fascinating as explosions themselves.

[slackmaster]

12. It's been the biggest local item on the news where I live for weeks now

What's your excuse, onehandle?

Are you just here to cast asparagus on people who post in the Gungeon (which would include you)?