Grenade Scare at Wickenburg McDonalds
Updated: Sunday, 29 Nov 2009, 2:48 PM MST
Published : Saturday, 28 Nov 2009, 2:39 PM MST
WICKENBURG, Ariz. - A McDonalds in Wickenburg was evacuated and a 37-year-old El Salvadoran man is under arrest after a bomb scare Saturday morning.
DPS says they were making a traffic stop about 7:20 a.m. Saturday on a Dodge Intrepid that was driving erratically on U.S. 60. After a license plate check, officers found the vehicle was reported stolen out of the Phoenix area.
The driver stopped the car at a McDonalds restaurant. DPS says that when the officer got out, he pulled out a hand grenade and it fell to the ground.
"About 8:00, police came in and they told us we had to evacuate the store and that we had a bomb alert," says McDonalds manager Virgil Demby.
The man was handcuffed and secured in the DPS vehicle, and the McDonalds was evacuated.
Wickenburg Police and Fire set up a perimeter outside the McDonalds and explosives personnel were called.
Authorities determined the device was a military-grade "Pineapple" grenade that was inert but could be made active.
The driver is suspected of being an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, 37-year-old Jose Santos.
Santos has been charged with DUI, theft/possession of a stolen license plate, theft/possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated assault on a police officer, and misconduct with a weapon.
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news...ade-11-28-2009