2 Men Plead Guilty Following Stockton Bomb Investigation Tied To Explosion At Church
STOCKTON (CBS13) — Two men have pleaded guilty to felony charges following a bomb investigation that forced a Stockton neighborhood to evacuate last month.
James Towles, 51, and Russel Altheide, 65 entered the guilty pleas Monday.
Towles is suspected of throwing a bomb at a church in January. He then led officers on a chase that ended with a crash. Investigators found a bomb inside his car that was rendered safe by the bomb squad.
Altheide is accused of helping Towles make the explosives. He pled guilty to felony possession of ingredients to make a bomb and was sentenced to five months in jail and two years of probation.
Towles pled guilty to reckless possession of an explosive device and misdemeanor hit and run. He was sentenced to three years in county jail and three years of community service.
On Jan. 11, a Stockton neighborhood was evacuated as authorities searched a home on the 2400 block of W. Sonoma Avenue connected to the suspects.
