A former employee at Arvin High School is heading to prison for an explosives conspiracy.
Bakersfield resident Angelo Jackson Mendiver, 27, was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for conspiring to engage in the manufacturing and dealing in explosive materials.
The big picture: Along with the manufacturing and dealing conspiracy, Mendiver was also found guilty of mailing explosive devices and making false statements to FBI agents.
- Mendiver was a campus security supervisor at Arvin High School.
Driving the news: Mendiver used an Instagram account to sell explosives and explosive materials.
- He worked closely with a male juvenile student at a Bakersfield high school to fulfill transactions and sent explosives through the mail to residents of other states.
Go deeper: In the Instagram messages Mendiver sent to the juvenile, he sent a photo of titanium salute – an explosive device – followed by two videos of homemade explosive devices that he had made.
- Further, Mendiver sent the statement “homemade kills all consumer.”
- He told the student to be “super careful bro that homemade shit is dangerous.”
- Federal agents seized 536 pounds of uncontained explosives and explosive materials on June 1, 2023, when executing a search warrant at Mendiver’s residence.
- Agents also seized an additional 440 pounds of uncontained explosives and explosive materials from the student’s residence.
- Agents found items used to make explosives at both residences.
- Mendiver falsely stated to FBI agents that he did not sell explosives and did not work with anyone in committing explosive offenses.
