Bomb Is Found in Valley Condo

An ex-convict was arrested by Los Angeles police after they found a homemade plastic bomb inside his Woodland Hills residence and evacuated nearby residents, authorities said Sunday.

Brian Blake, 24, was taken into custody Saturday after police were called by his roommate at a large Woodland Hills condominium complex, police said.

“She went into his room and saw some sort of device that she believed to be an explosive device,” said Sgt. David Wright of the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Valley station.

When officers arrived, Wright said, they found a 7-inch-long plastic cylinder that appeared to be a homemade explosive and evacuated about 50 residents from the 6300 block of Shoup Avenue.

The LAPD bomb squad later found that the cylinder was packed with bullets and other items.

“It looked like it was in the process of being constructed,” Wright said.

A bomb squad specialist detonated the device about 6:30 p.m., and police used bomb-sniffing dogs to search the complex for other devices.

No other bombs were found, but material to make other explosive devices were discovered, said Sgt. David Grimes, also of the West Valley station.

Residents were allowed back into their homes two hours later.

Blake is being held on suspicion of possessing materials with intent to make an explosive device. His bail was set at $150,000, though he remained in custody at the Van Nuys Jail on a no-bail parole hold. No details about his identity or background were released.

“My understanding is that there was no specific threat ... nothing to indicate that he was going to do anything with the device,” Wright said.

The roommate, Christina Clark, 44, who was arrested on an outstanding drug warrant, also was being held at the Van Nuys Jail, on $10,000 bail.