Orange County

Man Arrested for Possession of Explosive Devices in Tustin

Deputies disassembled the pipe bomb in the condo just after 4 p.m. and collected a large amount of bomb-making materials in the residence.

A 38-year-old man was behind bars Thursday on suspicion of possession of an explosive device and bomb-making materials in connection with an explosion at a condominium in an unincorporated area near Tustin.

Kevin Sean Welch also was booked on suspicion of possession of fireworks without a permit and the sale of illegal fireworks, Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff's Department said.

Welch was being held on $1 million bail.

Deputies were called just before 9 a.m., Wednesday, to a condo in the 12700 block of Newport Avenue, Braun said.

When deputies got to the home, a man who lived there admitted there was a "loud explosion, but he wasn't being very forthcoming with deputies," Braun said.

The deputies saw that a terra cotta chiminea-type object had been blown apart in Welch's yard, with a piece of shrapnel landing in a neighbor's yard, Braun said. They also spotted what appeared to be a pipe bomb.

Deputies evacuated residents of four neighboring condominiums, Braun said. Newport Avenue was closed from Wass Street to Warren Avenue.

Deputies disassembled the pipe bomb in the condo just after 4 p.m. and collected a large amount of bomb-making materials in the residence, Braun said.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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