WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Pearl explosives bust may be linked to Arizona weapons seizure
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By Roslyn Anderson - bio | email
PEARL, MS (WLBT) – A portion of I-20 in Pearl was shut down late Tuesday night after police said explosives were discovered in a vehicle during a routine traffic stop.
The investigation has led to a possible connection with similar arrests in Arizona.
A vehicle carrying explosive devices, assault weapons and hand guns forced authorities to close a section of the interstate in Pearl into the early morning hours Wednesday.
The Clinton Bomb Disposal Unit de-activated explosives found inside the white late model Volvo.
Investigators said the devices were practice grenades reconfigured into explosives.
38-year-old Christopher Gomez Quezada of Phoenix Arizona, who police said is a woman dressed as a man, was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and criminal conspiracy.
"They were practice hand grenades that had been drilled and filled with stuff that would make them lethal hand grenades and somewhat jerry rigged back together with duct tape and what have you," said Lt. Butch Townsend of the Pearl Police Department.
According to Pearl police, Mexican drug cartel wars might explain why the practice grenades were made into lethal weapons.
Quezada may be linked to the conversion of similar explosive devices in the Phoenix metro area, which Pearl police said is the suspect's hometown.
Tuesday the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced the arrest of three men in connection with the seizure of 23 military grade grenade casings or shells.
They are 19-year-old Jesus E. Rodriguez-Avena whose residency is unknown, 34-year-old Fernando Calderon Suazo and 24-year-old Alberto Prieto Molina, both undocumented aliens from Mexico.
The three sold undercover agents with an Arizona task force 16 grenades for $400.00 each.
Investigators in Pearl have not yet determined where Quezada's weapons were headed.
Quezada will make a court appearance in Pearl Thursday.
The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms now has the confiscated explosives.
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