High school supervisor convicted of selling explosives

A former security supervisor at a California high school campus has been sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to manufacture and traffic in explosive materials and for mailing explosives, the Justice Department said.

Angelo Jackson Mendiver, 27, of Bakersfield, California, used an Instagram account to sell explosives and explosive materials and worked closely with a male youth at Bakersfield High School to conduct transactions and mail explosives to residents of other states, the Justice Department announced this in a statement on Wednesday.

“In Instagram messages to the youth, Mendiver sent a photo of Titanium Salute, an explosive device, followed by two videos of homemade explosives he had made and the statement that ‘homemade kills all consumers,’” the Justice Department said. “He also advised the youngster to ‘be super careful, man, because homemade shit is dangerous.'”

Officials discovered 536 pounds of explosive material when they searched Mendiver’s home in June 2023, and another 440 pounds of explosive material in the youth’s home.

Mendiver denied selling explosives and claimed he was not working with anyone to commit crimes using them.

The FBI worked with Bakersfield police on this case.