Bomb Plot Suspected in Los Angeles

AP | 6/05/03 | ROBERT JABLON

[kattracks]

By ROBERT JABLON
The Associated Press
6/5/2003, 6:42 a.m. ET

, Calif. (AP) — A man in prison for vehicle theft is suspected of planning a significant attack, say authorities who uncovered an arsenal of semiautomatic assault weapons, ammunition, pipe bombs and barrels of jet fuel.

No charges have been filed, but the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is investigating, authorities said at a news conference Wednesday. The ATF is investigating John Noster for firearms and explosives violations and plans to present a case to federal prosecutors in the near future, ATF spokeswoman Latese Baker said.

Noster, 38, has refused to talk to investigators, sheriff's Sgt. John Demooy said.

"He was definitely planning on targeting a structure, location, individuals, and would have created significant damage," Demooy said.

Authorities have not been able to identify the target.

They said an investigation that began last fall led to the discovery of three pipe bombs, two incendiary devices, six 55-gallon drums of jet fuel, five assault weapons, smokeless powder, cannon fuse, electric matches, thousands of rounds of ammunition and $188,000 in cash.

The guns, ammunition and cash were in a garage "with a $3 padlock on it," Demooy said.

Noster had traveled back and forth across the country in a pickup with a camper shell after leaving a Los Angeles sporting goods company where he was an accountant. Investigators say he went to Texas, Arkansas and Oregon.

He worked for Easton Sports, which makes aluminum bats, hockey gear and bicycle frames, until voluntarily leaving in November 2000, said John Cramer, the company's vice president and general counsel.

Noster pleaded no contest to one count of grand theft auto on Jan. 14 and was sentenced to 16 months in prison but was given credit for 120 days served, district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said. Authorities said he had no other criminal record.

"He was white-collar professional, seemed like an intelligent man and I believe if charges are brought against him ... that he'll be vindicated in court," said Nicholas Khan, an attorney who represented Noster in the theft case.

Noster was arrested in November at his father's home in the West Hills area of Los Angeles. Incendiary devices were found there in the pickup truck, investigators said, leading to further discoveries at sites in the northern Los Angeles County city of Lancaster and the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City.

Authorities also found a handwritten note about options for destroying a building by either dropping an "instrument" from a gyrocopter or placing it nearby. A gyrocopter is a tiny aircraft that looks like a helicopter but is pushed by a rear-mounted propeller while the unpowered overhead blades create lift.

Authorities also seized a note addressed to Noster by a person only identified as Lance.

"Hi John, well here it is ... the first of many issues of homesland," the note said. "As I find other areas I will mail them to you. Hope you get a chance to come up and visit, we need some excitement around here, you know, like bomb threats or something .... Hope to hear from you soon, Lance."

[camle]

no argument there.

[camle]

good. BTW: did you get caught in any of those floods that were on the news?

[MEG33]

As I know so little about explosive mixes,I had only my memory.It probably stuck because it was a Texas source and Oklahoma felt awfully personal to me.

[MEG33]

No,although this region has areas that get hit.

[camle]

yeesh! we've been getting a lot of rain up here, just enough to intefere with my outside projects.

[TechJunkYard]

Nitromethane, IIRC. And the fertilizer provides oxygen.

[MEG33]

Now what was this guy doing with jet fuel??

[heckler]

"Jet Fuel" is just light kerosene. There is little difference between jet fuel,diesel, and fuel oil. Some diesel engines will run on all three. Racing gasoline has no more energy than pump gas, it just has a higher flash point to reduce detonation in high compression engines.

[camle]

thanx. i learned something today.

[MEG33]

Thanks!

[concentric circles]

Do you have a link for that info?

[kcvl]

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~1435667,00.html

[concentric circles]

Thanks!

[Amore]

Ha! so did we in Florida, but I don't see any difference. There's one locally famous quadruple murderer, and I believe he killed them in 1978. He's still alive and kicking and appealing.

[dmz]

wasn't quickly enough, IMO.

[Howlin]

Handwritten notes Noster left in the Lancaster storage unit mentioned the "New World Order," the Council on Foreign Relations and other hot-button terms among anti-government conspiracy buffs.

OMG....I think he posts here!

[Brad’s Gramma]

You're not kidding, are you?

Do you remember his screen name?

[Howlin]

Yes, I'm kidding, but I've read stuff just like that on FR........LOL.

[Brad’s Gramma]

I know.


I was thinking that would make up a LARGE portion of this foum!!

[kcvl]

LOL!