Bomb scare at BART officer relative's home

5:33 p.m.A suspicious package drew the Napa Police Department and Napa County Sheriff Department’s Bomb Disposal Team to a south Napa home Saturday night; the home belonged to a relative of former BART Police officer Johannes Mehserle, who is the target of a murder investigation involving the New Year’s Day shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant.

This incident marks the second time this week that someone has targeted the home of one of Mehserle’s relatives, each time leaving a suspicious package at the door.

On Saturday, the victim, who police describe as an immediate family member of Mehserle’s, arrived at his home at 7:16 p.m., and discovered a package near his door.

Napa Police officers arrived to the home, inspected the package and called the sheriff’s bomb squad for assistance, according to the Napa Police Department. With the use of a special robot, bomb squad deputies inspected the package, removed it and detonated it. The police department reports that no explosive or hazardous materials were inside the package, but declined to release the contents noting an ongoing investigation.

Read tommorrow's Register for the full story.

20 comment(s)

jeeper16 wrote on Jan 18, 2009 6:34 PM:

" What a bunch of scumbags! The family had nothing to do with the incident. Leave the family alone! The people who did this have already convicted Mr. Mehserle before he even has a fair trial.
They are nothing more than a bunch of urban terrortists. "

Dwayne wrote on Jan 18, 2009 6:45 PM:

" More chocolate chip cookies perhaps...??? "

mytwocents wrote on Jan 18, 2009 7:40 PM:

" I heard that detonation last night around 9:30pm, it was loud. If I were that family I would move asap and put that house on the market. The message they are sending is pretty serious. "

VERUM wrote on Jan 18, 2009 7:41 PM:

" Bogus bomb, part 2. And another front page story for Monday, MLK national holiday on the eve of the inauguration.Totally typical Napa Register. "

NVR-Dan Ross wrote on Jan 18, 2009 9:11 PM:

" VERUM:
From your comments on this and other articles, you seem to be implying we are inventing these stories. We report the events that take place in this community, and this took place here. "

db76 wrote on Jan 18, 2009 9:25 PM:

" Maybe Verum is suggesting that the NVR is actually planting these bombs. Considering the wacky things some NVR commenters say on these boards (e.g., the global climate is getting colder, Obama is an Arab terrorist, Sarah Palin is qualified to be VP), it wouldn't surprise me. "

yoyo wrote on Jan 18, 2009 9:43 PM:

" Verum:
I am glad this is reported. This is what a local paper needs to be reporting on. Thanks Dan Ross and keep it up! "

VERUM wrote on Jan 18, 2009 10:28 PM:

" db76: you may be onto something here; like the arsonist that was actually a fireman.

But again, no bomb. Just bogus. And the police had no idea that this relative existed and could be a target? "

napaoldguy wrote on Jan 18, 2009 11:36 PM:

" "Verum"

I would much rather hear about the fake bomb scare then what's happening on Monday which I believe is a fake holiday or Tuesday. "

reason-ator wrote on Jan 19, 2009 12:26 AM:

" I'm torn as to whether this kind of thing is encouraged by the publicity, or if highlighting the action of the witless barbarians increases a helpful awareness.

I understand the anger of the people of Oakland. It's been festering since before the Riders, and simmering with the illegal warrants that got some of their favourite drug dealers arrested. But after seeing a young man destroying someone else's property in the recent riots while saying "Someone gotta pay", I can't help but feel that they are losing sympathy from some people who can't logically understand this misguided theory of justice.

They are protesting the punishment of innocent people by punishing innocent people. Not too smart. "

lousy naive ignorant napan wrote on Jan 19, 2009 7:07 AM:

" VERUM:

Maybe we should just ignore it and pretend we don't have a serious problem... "

Maya wrote on Jan 19, 2009 7:47 AM:

" Sounds like something to catch the individual responsible needs to be set up outside that home. Surveillance cameras, police watch, neighborhood watch - something. This is alarming. "

gladtobegone wrote on Jan 19, 2009 8:52 AM:

" Come on Napa, you're starting to sound like Vallejo. Leave this poor family alone! "

notshocked wrote on Jan 19, 2009 9:20 AM:

" NVR-Dan Ross -- glad to see your response to verum. I do not see anything constructive about his/her comments and, frankly, implicitly degrading and attacking. I nominate verum is silenced on this topic.

I think the report of a bomb scare is important; it is nothing short of terrorism to the family and neighborhood and the perpetrators, if found, should be punished to that full extent! "

lousy naive ignorant napan wrote on Jan 19, 2009 10:12 AM:

" notshocked

I completely agree. If a bomb scare (or 2) inside city limits isn't front page news, I don't know what is... "

Dwayne wrote on Jan 19, 2009 11:10 AM:

" Please note that neither was a "bomb"...

The cops destroyed them because they couldn't figure out whether it was cookies for the family, or something ordered from E-Bay... That's standard procedure if X-Rays cannot determine the contents, but it doean't mean it was a bomb, or even that it was intended as a fake scare... In fact, the cops refused to disclose what the contents were, but did say there were no explosives...

Both could have been quite innocent, and this is being blown way out of proportion because the police don't want to admit that they just blow things up when they don't know what else to do... The results are the paranoid comments here...

Besides, handling it this way insures that Napa has a bomb squad, and that they get some procedural practice... Not releasing information is the same mentality as in the Bart shooting...

Get a grip..... "

lousy naive ignorant napan wrote on Jan 19, 2009 1:52 PM:

" Dwayne

Yes, it was probably just some nice person bringing cookies... And those nice people in Oakland didn't mean to cause any damage... "

notshocked wrote on Jan 19, 2009 4:25 PM:

" Dwayne, I believe it is you that needs a grip. I'm sure the homeowners where suspicious; they would've retrieved an expected package from Ebay or happily taken cookies from a caring friend. Everyday airports destroy unattended bags.... this "procedural practice" is not a paranoid response, it's needed as the family is being threatened and they are being terrorized. For that matter, comments that suggest anything less than concern are terrorizing in my book.

Get a grip. "

Dwayne wrote on Jan 19, 2009 5:24 PM:

" notshocked, you're right.....

Paranoia is much more exciting than reality... Have fun..... "

mytwocents wrote on Jan 19, 2009 6:29 PM:

" Dwayne wrote on Jan 19, 2009 11:10 AM:

" Please note that neither was a "bomb"...

The cops destroyed them because they couldn't figure out whether it was cookies for the family, or something ordered from E-Bay... That's standard procedure if X-Rays cannot determine the contents, but it doean't mean it was a bomb, or even that it was intended as a fake scare... In fact, the cops refused to disclose what the contents were, but did say there were no explosives...

Both could have been quite innocent, and this is being blown way out of proportion because the police don't want to admit that they just blow things up when they don't know what else to do... The results are the paranoid comments here...

Besides, handling it this way insures that Napa has a bomb squad, and that they get some procedural practice... Not releasing information is the same mentality as in the Bart shooting...

Get a grip..... "

I'm willing to bet Dwayne lives no where near So East Napa. If you were closer you may think more clearly and take it more seriously. "

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