A California high school security guard has been convicted of running a homemade explosives business with a teenager he was charged with protecting.
Angelo Jackson Mendiver, 27, pleaded guilty to, among other things, conspiracy to engage in the manufacture and dealing of explosive materials and making false statements to FBI agents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The former Kem School District high school employee was arrested in June after investigators found about 500 pounds of explosives at his Bakersfield home and another 500 at his teenage associate’s home.
To sell their products, the two suspects promoted the explosives through an Instagram account on which images and videos of the combustibles were posted, according to court documents.
The duo had customers across the United States who bought the explosives delivered by the suspects by mail, investigators told the daily “New York Post” which tried to get school officials to react.
While awaiting the verdict, suspect Mendiver, who faces no less than four counts, risks a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and up to US$1 million in fines, it was added.
