Shotgun bullet booby traps speed up evacuation of Southern California home

A 61-year-old man may be charged with felonies for setting, placing and maintaining shotgun shell booby traps at a Santa Monica residence, authorities announced Monday.

Officers with the Santa Monica Police Department discovered the booby traps Sunday after responding to a “firearms” call at a residence in the 3300 block of Exposition Boulevard, SMPD officials said in a press release.

A neighbor who called 911 told police she also heard a male voice threatening to kill someone in the residence’s garage.

Inside the residence, police found two elderly women unharmed and a third person, also unharmed, now identified as Arthur Tabuchi.

“While checking the garage, officers found a shotgun shell mounted on the workbench,” the statement said. “The projectile was equipped with a spring-loaded firing pin and a wire attached to the tip of the pin and the garage door.”

LA street gangs tied to Mexican cartels exposed in sweeping raid

Police determined that the wire was rigged to pull the firing pin out and fire the round toward the door when the door was opened, and quickly evacuated the home while deputies from the Los Angeles County Bomb Squad were called to clear the residence and garage of any additional material. booby traps.

A second shotgun shell was located on the north side of the house, near a pedestrian door with a similar firing pin and tripwire setup.

“This round, modified as a sound deflection device (not containing a bullet), was recently fired and is believed to be the source of the original Shots Fired call,” police said.

The bomb squad managed to remove the bullet from the shotgun in the garage and no other live booby traps were found. After obtaining a search warrant for the building, detectives located other illegally obtained ammunition.

Tabuchi was hospitalized for a mental health evaluation, authorities said.

“Criminal charges related to setting, placing and maintaining booby traps will be filed by filing a written complaint with the District Attorney’s Office,” the statement said.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation should contact SMPD Det. You are kindly requested to contact. McCoy at [email protected] or Sgt. Reach Cooney at [email protected] or call the Watch Commander 24 hours a day at 310-458-8427.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Go to KTLA for the latest news, weather, sports and streaming video.