DEA: Salinas man accused of expressing interest in placing bombs at police departments, selling bombs to gangs
MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) A Salinas man has been arrested for having an unregistered silencer that did not have a serial number, but he is also accused of expressing interest in selling a pipe bomb to local gangs and placing a bomb outside police departments, including the Seaside Police Department.
The DEA agent who investigated the case identified the suspect as Rufino Hidalgo Costales Jr. in an affidavit filed with the U.S. District Court.
The investigation began on July 7 when the Monterey Police Department got a report that Costales had bomb making materials in his storage unit, including gun powder, metal nails and pipes. The DEA said Costales was reportedly angry with the government and law enforcement and made at least 10 statements expressing interest in creating an explosive device and using it to kill people.
Some of the statements were about selling a pipe bomb to gangs and placing bombs outside California police departments, including the one in Seaside.
After receiving the report, Monterey police secured the storage unit while waiting for a search warrant to be signed, and while they were there, Costales arrived in a vehicle. Police said he appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance, so he was detained and given a field evaluation before being arrested.
Police searched Costales and the vehicle and said they found a meth pipe with what appeared to be a usable amount of meth and about 8.9 grams of what appeared to be meth in a glass jar.
When police got the search warrant for the storage unit and vehicle, they said they seized about two pounds of gunpowder, a silencer and a semiautomatic pistol with an extended barrel and threading that fit the silencer they found.
Other items police said they found in the storage unit include a hollowed out grenade, ammunition and a backpack filled with meth pipes, meth vape pipes, PVC pipes, nunchucks, a gun case, a gun card, a California ID card, a medical marijuana card and miscellaneous bolts, nails and screws.
During the investigation, police said they discovered that nobody else had authorized access to the unit, it had to be accessed using a gate code, it was on the third floor and it was secured using a combination disk lock.
The DEA is charging him with knowingly having a silencer that was not registered and did not have a serial number. If convicted, he could face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000.
