Man accused of throwing homemade bomb at Merced home, leaving other explosives around house

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- A 52-year-old man was arrested after police say he set threw a homemade explosive device over the fence of a home in Merced last weekend.

Police officers responded to reports of a fence that had caught fire at a home in north Merced on Sunday, June 20.

After firefighters put out the flames, investigators found home surveillance video that appeared to show 52-year-old Wes McDaniel throwing a lit device over the backyard fence, police say.

The device caught fire and exploded, causing flames to spread to the fence and metal shrapnel to hit the house.

The Merced Police Bomb Squad discovered five more homemade explosives around the home and deactivated the devices.

Detectives say the devices were made with explosive powder, metal fragments and had fusing systems to help ignite them.

Investigators say McDaniel was suspected of the crime, and detectives served a search warrant at his home on 21st Street in Merced, where they found more bomb-making materials as well as a bolt-action rifle, ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

McDaniel was booked in the Merced County Jail on multiple charges, including igniting a destructive device and possession of materials to make a destructive device.

Police believe McDaniel may also be connected to a similar attack that occurred in Lemoore.