Local, state and federal experts will field questions from the public tonight during a town hall meeting thrown to discuss the disposal of a massive cache of explosives found earlier this month at a home in an unincorporated section of Escondido.
The 7 p.m. meeting will be held in the multi-purpose room at Woodland Park Middle School at 1270 Rock Springs Road in San Marcos. The room has space for about 700 people, said Melissa Aquino, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The experts will include representatives from local fire, sheriff and police departments, the FBI and the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services, along with ones from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Aquino said the panel will discuss the disposal of explosives found at 1954 Via Scott on Nov. 18.
Authorities went to the home after a gardener, Mario Garcia, 49, of Fallbrook, was injured when he stepped on something akin to a mine in the home's yard. The home's resident, George Jakubec, 54, was arrested later the same day.
Authorities said they found nine pounds of explosive materials sometimes used by terrorists, including a large amount of hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, or HMTD.
Jakubec has since pleaded not guilty to 26 felony counts involving possessing destructive devices, along with two charges of bank robbery, and is being held on $5 million bail.
During his first court appearance last week, Jakubec was accused of having the largest cache of homemade explosive compounds ever found in one spot on U.S. soil. The prosecution said the intentions of Jakubec, a naturalized U.S. citizen, are being investigated.
So far, explosive experts have disposed of some of the explosives by burying them in the ground and detonating them, shutting down part of Interstate 15 for about three hours for motorists' safety.
