"Every room we go into is a task," said CHP Officer Sean Kennedy. The story played out in at least two locations Thursday -- the house filled with investigators wearing protective gear and the state building in San Francisco where Yee confirmed that he was, in fact, a recipient of an emailed death threat last month. "The author of that particular email specifically stated that if I did not cease efforts to deal with gun violence, that he would assassinate me in or around the capitol," he said.
On Tuesday, the California Highway Patrol arrested 45-year-old Everett Basham, who lived in the house. They have charged him with threatening a state official and possessing illegal firearms and chemicals. Investigators exploded some of them Tuesday night and they pulled more from the house Thursday, bottles of nitric acid and sulfuric acid.
There were also other items they described as explosive devices. "I believe so. They said this is designed to be destructive," Kennedy said. The San Jose police loaded one in a brown paper bag and detonated it. Kennedy said the materials they found would be suspicious even if Basham were not a suspect.
Basham used to work for Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak who has praised him highly for his work as an electrical engineer. When asked about why Basham might have chemicals, Wozniak said, "He would absolutely have cleaning solvents in his home. Let us not rush to judgment."
Basham is in Santa Clara County Jail and could be arraigned as early as Friday.
