Lodi Police Investigating Who Made Pipe Bombs Found In Shoplifting Suspect's Car
LODI (CBS13) — A disturbing discovery was made during the arrest of a suspected shoplifter when police say they found several pipe bombs in her car on Monday.
Police are trying to figure out who made the bombs that were found in Olga Myshnova's vehicle after she was allegedly caught shoplifting twice. They say what she planned to do with the bombs could lead to federal charges.
Shopping center workers on Kettleman Lane looked out on Monday to see police making an arrest in the parking lot.
"Cops rolling on one car. I didn't know what was going on. I thought she maybe was speeding or something," said Jack-In-The-Box employee Manuel Espinoza.
But when they looked outside a few minutes later, police had taped off a large section of the parking lot and a bomb squad was called in.
Lodi Police say Myshnova was caught shoplifting at the Walmart across the street. She had already left when police arrived, but was tracked by a security guard to Marshall's. Police say she also shoplifted clothes from that store.
When they searched her jeep, police found two pipe bombs sitting in her passenger seat.
"We obviously quartered off the area, I guess what they would call a blast radius," said Lt. Sierra Brucia. "Had someone attempted to detonate them, they would've detonated."
The bomb squad used a water cannon and tank to safely detonate the bombs.
Myshnova was arrested and currently only faces state charges. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will join the investigation to find out if she was the bomb maker, and what she planned to do with them.
