It took police multiple detonations for them to get rid of all the explosive materials. By 11 p.m. police determined that there were no other explosives inside the house. Evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes before midnight.
This all started when police got a report that 63-year-old Mark Sedlock, of San Jose, had made a threat against someone. Police got a warrant, went back to the house, and at 12:30 p.m. the SWAT team arrested Sedlock without incident.
However, after a search of the house, police found numerous handguns, rifles and shotguns that he was not allowed to have because of a previous criminal history. At that point, they then found what they call explosive devices in the house.
"We're not releasing that information at this point. I can tell you that it is material that was potentially explosive. The officers rendered it safe by placing it inside of a hole that they had dug in front of the resident's front yard, place sandbags around it, so they were able to detonate it and render it safe," said San Jose Police Officer Jose Garcia.
"We heard the first explosion and I'm thinking, 'Oh, that was awfully loud,' so I ran outside because I live on Seventh Street and all the neighbors came out and I'm thinking, 'OK, so what's going on?' So I did call the non-emergency number for the police department to ask what was going on. There was a helicopter, so I knew something was up," said resident Alice Martinez.
Police evacuated 10 homes in the immediate area and in the surrounding area residents were given a choice of evacuating or staying inside. At 9 p.m. the evacuation order was still in place since the last four explosives found were larger than the first.
"I heard some shots last night and I had a feeling it was him, but I wasn't sure. It was in the middle of the night," said resident Richard Souza. When asked if he ever saw Sedlock with any firearms, Souza said, "Definitely. Definitely. I've seen a pistol in his waist one day. He was out on the front porch one day waving it around."
Sedlock is now in the county jail on weapons and explosive charges.
