Traffic stop leads to explosives, stolen property
BY ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
7/25/12 at 3:56 AM
Three people were arrested at a house where explosives were found during an investigation into stolen property Monday, Tulsa police said.
Police found and detonated three small storage containers filled with an explosive chemical mixture after serving a search warrant about 7:30 p.m. at the house, which is in the 1500 block of North Florence Place, Officer Leland Ashley said.
The Police Department's Bomb Squad and hazardous materials workers swept through the house, and teams removed what they found and detonated the explosives safely in nearby Clinton Park, Capt. Ryan Perkins said.
They stopped the search after nightfall Monday and resumed Tuesday morning, but no more explosives were found, Ashley said. Officers guarded the house overnight.
"At some point last night they decided it was too dangerous to continue" in the dark, Perkins said, adding that police also worried that the explosions would disturb sleeping neighbors.
Perkins described the containers as "high explosives" - a broad term that includes military-grade bombs - but said the explosions were safely contained in the park.
An arrest report says one container had 42 grams of triacetone triperoxide, an explosive organic compound.
Police were led to the house during a daylong investigation that began when they pulled over a stolen vehicle about 9 a.m., Cpl. Greg Smith said.
Officers spotted a stolen trailer in the yard, interviewed witnesses and obtained the search warrant, he said.
More suspected stolen property was taken from the house Tuesday, Ashley said.
Police arrested three residents of the house Monday, including a man they accuse of keeping the explosives.
Brian Lee Larkins, 39; Jason Michael Rathburn, 24; and Jessica Cason, 31, were booked into the Tulsa Jail on complaints of possessing stolen property, drugs and drug paraphernalia, records show.
Additional complaints of possessing explosives and having a firearm while in the commission of a felony were also lodged against Larkins. His bail was set at $64,250.
Rathburn was also booked into jail on a complaint of possessing a firearm while in the commission of a felony. His bail was set at $48,250.
He was sentenced to a year of probation June 27 after pleading guilty to a charge of concealing stolen property in connection with the May 31 burglary of a house in the 2400 block of North Columbia Place, records show.
He was arrested in that case June 1 during an eight-hour standoff with police at another house. He also pleaded guilty in 2010 to drug possession, records show.
Cason's bail was set at $14,250.
Original Print Headline: 3 jailed after explosives found
Zack Stoycoff 918-581-8486
zack.stoycoff@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Stolen motorbikes sit on a trailer Tuesday outside a house where police found explosives and other stolen goods in the 1500 block of North Florence Place. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
Brian Lee Larkins (from left), Jason Michael Rathburn and Jessica Cason: The three were booked into the Tulsa Jail on complaints of possessing stolen property, drugs and drug paraphernalia after police stopped a stolen vehicle Monday. That reportedly led officers to find other stolen items and "high explosives" at a residence
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