Crime Watch

Police Arrest Homeless Man In Bomb Incident

LA MESA -- Police have made an arrest in the July 3 incident in which an bottle bomb was tossed at a trolley near the Spring Street Trolley Station.

Officers responding to the scene at 8 p.m. July 3 located a deformed 16 ounce plastic bottle on the trolley platform.  Investigators later determined the bottle had been filled with magnesium and water, causing an explosive chemical reaction.  After reviewing the surveillance video provided by the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), it appeared someone had thrown the bottle from a westbound trolley near the Spring Street Trolley Station.  The bottle fell to the ground.  A few minutes later the bottle exploded.  There were no injuries from the explosion and the trolley was not damaged. 

 On July 4th, MTS security contacted 19 year-old Darron Williams, as the result of a report of a male acting strangely at the Gillespie Field Trolley Station.  The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department assisted MTS Security in locating Darron Williams, who had left the Trolley platform by the time deputies arrived.  Williams was interviewed and identified by deputies and later released. At that time, Darron Williams was not a suspect in the previous La Mesa incident.  

 As part of the continued investigation into the La Mesa incident by La Mesa Police and MTS, MTS Security reviewed the surveillance footage from the interior of the trolleys at the time of the La Mesa incident.  Darron Williams was seen on the surveillance video and linked to the crime in La Mesa.

 La Mesa police searched for Williams and were able to locate him in El Cajon. He was arrested Friday evening by the La Mesa Police Department and booked at San Diego County Jail for the following charges:

 Possession of Explosive Device with Intent to Destroy Property, Attempted Possession of Explosive Device with the Intent to Destroy Property, Possession of Explosive Device on a Railway and Carrying a Concealed Explosive Device on a Railway

 Darron Williams is currently homeless.