| For Immediate Release Case # 08CF1993
July 7, 2008 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
HUSBAND ON PROBATION FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDER ARRESTED AND CHARGED ON BOMB AND WEAPONS CHARGES
SANTA ANA – A husband on probation for domestic violence against his estranged wife was charged today with bomb and weapons charges after making threats against his wife, the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD), and the family court judge who had been presiding over his family court case. Ronald Gary Turner, 44, Costa Mesa, is charged with felonies for possession of a destructive device with the intent to injure, possession of a loaded firearm in public, possession of a homemade deadly weapon, a zip gun, defacing the registration number of a firearm, receiving a stolen firearm, child endangerment, and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person. If convicted of all counts, the defendant is facing a maximum sentence of 13 years and four months. The Orange County District Attorney will be asking that the defendant be held without bail in this case and on a no bail hold for the probation violation. Turner is scheduled to be arraigned today, Monday, July 7, 2008, at 1:30 p.m., in Department C-57, at the Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
On April 4, 2008, Turner was placed on probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence restraining order charge (07WM09304). On July 1, 2008, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) received information through HBPD and the Newport Beach Police Department that the defendant may possibly be in possession of bombs and weapons and had made potential threats against his estranged wife and the judge who was handling his family law matter. The defendant is accused of failing to attend the batterer’s treatment program and a bench warrant was issued on the misdemeanor case on July 2, 2008.
On July 2, 2008, OCSD deputies conducted a traffic stop on the 22 Freeway. At the traffic stop, Turner is accused of possessing handcuffs, pepper spray, throwing knives, and a stolen 9 mm firearm with the serial numbers removed loaded with hollow point rounds. Turner is accused of possessing two homemade bombs with timers, two homemade guns, other bomb making materials, tactical equipment, a bullet proof vest, and listening devices in his Costa Mesa home. Two children, unrelated to the defendant, were living in the home in an adjacent room. The OCSD bomb squad safely detonated both homemade bombs on July 3, 2008.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Clint McCall at 714-347-8814.
Deputy District Attorney Israel Claustro of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.
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