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http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-bomb-theft-20180424-story.html
News Courts
Sailor charged with possessing explosives stolen from San Diego Navy ship
The destroyer Pinckney. (File photo)
Kristina DavisContact Reporter
A sailor was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of possessing 20 military grenades that had been stolen from a San Diego-based Navy destroyer — explosives that were later found abandoned on the side of a freeway in Arizona.
Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron A. Booker, 31, is charged with one count of possession of stolen explosives in a San Diego federal complaint that was unsealed Tuesday. He was arrested by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents in Great Lakes, Ill., where he is now stationed.
The shipment of 60 MK3A2 concussion hand grenades arrived on January 20, 2016, aboard the Pinckney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer ported at Naval Base San Diego, according to the complaint.
The explosives were packaged 20 to a crate, labeled as “G911 grenades.” Each contains about a half-pound of TNT and has a casualty radius of 2 meters, although fragments could be projected as far as 200 meters from the detonation point, authorities point out.
“These grenades are designed to be offensive and lethal weapons,” according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Chicago in the case.
The grenades were stored in a secured locker, with the only access given to gunner’s mates who would daily check the temperature in the unit, authorities said.
About a year later, in February 2017, a routine inventory revealed the bottom crate had a missing seal — and 20 missing grenades.
The 15 sailors who had access at the time were each interviewed, and each allowed NCIS agents to search their vehicles and homes. But the searches yielded nothing of use.
Some of the sailors in their interviews, however, indicated Booker had been angry with his commanding officer and entire chain of command aboard the Pinckney because he felt he’d been wrongly disciplined following an arrest in Arizona, court records state.
According to a search warrant unsealed in November in Chicago, Booker had been riding motorcycles with friends and fellow sailors near Yuma in October 2015 when one of the other riders tried to evade police. Booker was arrested on charges of unlawful flight from law enforcement and speeding over 85 mph, but Booker claims he was merely following the officer, not fleeing. The charges were dropped.
But his command determined the incident should be reviewed internally, and following a Disciplinary Review Board hearing he threatened to kill or harm his supervisor, the search warrant states. “If I’m in the armory, I don’t know what I’ll do,” he said. He was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after that, although his full access to the armory was later restored.
When the grenades were later discovered missing, Booker was in the process of transferring to his new command in Great Lakes.
In March, about a week into his new post, NCIS agents interviewed him about the missing explosives. He denied seeing them, opening the crates or having ever trained with them, the complaint states.
About a month later, on April 20, 2017, the grenades turned up — or most of them.
An off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy was waiting in traffic on Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona and spotted a backpack leaning on a guardrail on the side of the road. The black backpack was standard-issue military with “GM2 Booker” handwritten on an inside tag.
Arizona highway patrol officers and the FBI found inside 18 grenades with the same lot number as the missing explosives.
In a second interview, Booker admitted that the bag was his and that he’d taken the route, but said the backpack had been stolen from him about a year ago after he’d left it in the Pinckney’s armory. He stated he was especially upset about the theft because the bag had a GM pin on the front that was hard to replace.
He then said that he had seen the grenades out of their crate and had trained on their use, the complaint says.
A search of his home in Illinois turned up the GM pin he’d talked about having been stolen. He acknowledged it was the same pin, according to the complaint.
A day later, Booker called an NCIS agent and reported that he’d made several inquiries into the grenades with people in San Diego and directed agents to look in Tijuana for the last missing two. He said his former motorcycle club was associated with two people who had connections to the “cartel” and that the grenades were stolen at the request of the cartel, the complaint says.
He also continued to deny stealing the grenades but admitted going “into the box” at one point to confirm the grenades were present, the complaint states.
A search of Booker’s phone found that he conducted a Google search for “G911 grenade” on Jan. 25, 2017, watched a YouTube video about grenades and did another Google search, the complaint says.
Chicago Tribune staff writer Jason Meisner contributed to this report.
https://nypost.com/2018/04/24/us-sailor-accused-of-stealing-grenades-from-navy-ship/
News
Sailor accused of stealing grenades from Navy ship
By Associated Press
April 24, 2018 | 10:02pm | Updated
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Russian fighter jet intercepts US surveillance plane
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SAN DIEGO — A sailor was arrested in Illinois on Tuesday on charges he stole 20 hand grenades from a San Diego-based Navy destroyer, authorities said.
Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Booker, 31, of Waukegan, Illinois, was taken into custody in Great Lakes by U.S. Navy criminal investigators and was expected to be returned to California. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.
Booker stole the concussion grenades — each of which contained about a half-pound of TNT — while he was assigned to the Weapons Department aboard the USS Pinckney, prosecutors said. Booker’s job was to check the temperature of the secured locker where the grenades were kept.
The grenades were discovered missing from their storage crates in February 2017. He left the ship about a week later to drive to his new duty station in Great Lakes.
About two months later, a black military backpack containing 18 grenades was found leaning on a guardrail on the side of Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona, officials said. The words “GM2 BOOKER” were written on a tag inside the backpack, prosecutors said.
Booker told investigators that he had driven that road but said the backpack had been stolen from him and denied taking the grenades, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities continue to search for the two missing grenades, which Booker indicated to investigators might have wound up in Mexico, the complaint said.
It was unclear why the grenades were stolen or what the thief intended to do with them.
“A backpack full of grenades on the side of the road is obviously extremely dangerous and could have had resulted in injuries or death,” U.S. Attorney Adam L. Braverman said in a statement. “The theft of explosives is a very serious offense, particularly if it is carried out by an insider with access to military weapons and secrets.”
If convicted of possessing stolen explosives, Booker could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/navy-sailor-arrested-stealing-grenades-ship
Navy Sailor Arrested for Stealing Grenades from Ship
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Pettit (619) 546-7972
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 24, 2018
SAN DIEGO – Gunner's Mate Second Class Aaron Booker was arraigned in federal court today on charges that he possessed 20 stolen concussion hand grenades that went missing from San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney.
Booker, who had been stationed in San Diego when the alleged crime took place, was taken into custody this morning at his new post in Great Lakes, Illinois by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The United States is seeking removal of Booker to face charges in San Diego.
According to a complaint, USS Pinckney personnel discovered 20 grenades missing from their storage crates during a routine inventory of explosives on February 8, 2017. Designated personnel are required to conduct regular temperature checks in the locker that houses the crates, but no personnel should have accessed the crates themselves outside of an inventory. Booker was a member of the ship’s Weapons Department, and between November 2016 and January 2017, he conducted temperature checks for that locker on five separate occasions. The United States alleges that Booker removed these grenades from their storage crate and transported them off the ship. He officially detached from the ship on February 14, 2017, at which point he left San Diego and drove to his new duty station in Great Lakes, Illinois.
On April 20, 2017, an off-duty law enforcement officer discovered a black backpack on the side of the road leaning against a guardrail on Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona. The bag was a standard military issued backpack with “GM2 BOOKER” handwritten on a tag inside the bag, and it contained 18 of the grenades that were missing from USS Pinckney. Law enforcement is searching for the two missing grenades.
According to the complaint, Booker acknowledged to investigators that he drove that route before reporting to his new duty station in early March. However, he provided conflicting statements related to if and how he had seen or touched the grenades.
“A backpack full of grenades on the side of the road is obviously extremely dangerous and could have had resulted in injuries or death,” said U.S. Attorney Adam L. Braverman said. “The theft of explosives is a very serious offense, particularly if it is carried out by an insider with access to military weapons and secrets.”
“Navy sailors are trusted with maintaining dangerous and sensitive equipment onboard naval vessels to ensure the Navy is always prepared to protect and defend the interests of the United States,” said Belinda Saunders, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Southwest Field Office. “It is a violation of that trust for any service member to steal from the United States Navy for any reason. This case is particularly troubling given the explosive nature of what was stolen, which could have seriously injured others.”
Booker is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing in the Northern District of Illinois before he is transferred to San Diego.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...-waukegan-sailor-arrested-20180425-story.html
Suburbs Lake County News-Sun Lake County News
Sailor from Waukegan accused of stealing grenades from Navy ship in San Diego
A sailor from Waukegan was arrested on charges he stole 20 hand grenades from the San Diego-based Navy destroyer USS Pinckney, shown in April 2017. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Deanna C. Gonzales/U.S. Navy)
Kristina DavisSan Diego Union-Tribune
Privacy Policy
A sailor from Waukegan has been arrested at Naval Station Great Lakes on suspicion of possessing 20 military-grade grenades that had been stolen from a San Diego-based Navy destroyer — explosives that were later found abandoned on the side of a freeway in Arizona.
Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Booker, 31, was charged with one count of possession of stolen explosives in a San Diego federal complaint that was unsealed Tuesday.
Booker was arrested by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents at Great Lakes, where he has been stationed since early 2017. He is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing before a federal magistrate judge in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Thursday, records show.
According to the complaint, the shipment of 60 MK3A2 concussion hand grenades arrived Jan. 20, 2016, aboard the USS Pinckney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, while it was in port at Naval Base San Diego.
The explosives were packaged 20 to a crate, labeled as “G911 grenades.” Each contains about a half-pound of TNT and has a casualty radius of about 6 feet, although fragments could be projected as far as 650 feet, court records showed.
“These grenades are designed to be offensive and lethal weapons,” a search warrant affidavit filed as part of the probe said.
The grenades were stored in a secured locker, with access given only to gunner’s mates who would check the temperature in the unit daily, authorities said.
In February 2017, a routine inventory revealed the bottom crate had a missing seal and that all 20 grenades were missing.
The 15 sailors who had access at the time were each interviewed. All also allowed NCIS agents to search their vehicles and homes. But the searches yielded nothing of use, the charges allege.
Some of the sailors indicated in their interviews, however, that Booker had been angry with his commanding officer and the entire chain of command aboard the Pinckney because he felt he had been wrongly disciplined after an arrest in Arizona, according to the court records.
The search warrant affidavit, which was unsealed in November in Chicago, said Booker had been riding motorcycles with friends and fellow sailors near Yuma in October 2015 when one of the other riders tried to evade police. Booker was arrested on charges of unlawful flight from law enforcement and speeding over 85 mph, but Booker claimed he was merely following the officer, not fleeing.
The charges were dropped. But his commanding officers determined the incident should be reviewed internally, and after a Disciplinary Review Board hearing, he threatened to kill or harm his supervisors, according to the affidavit. Witnesses told investigators that Booker at one point said, “If I’m in the armory, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Booker’s words were taken as a threat of homicidal or suicidal ideation,” the affidavit said, and he was sent to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. He was later returned to regular duties on the Pickney, with full access to the armory and weapons on the ship, the affidavit said.
When the grenades were later discovered missing, Booker was in the process of transferring to his new command at Great Lakes.
In March 2017, about a week into his new post, NCIS agents interviewed him about the missing explosives. He denied seeing them, opening the crates or having ever trained with them, the complaint said.
About a month later, on April 20, 2017, the grenades turned up — or most of them.
An off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy was waiting in traffic on Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona and spotted a backpack leaning on a guardrail on the side of the road. The black backpack was standard-issue military with “GM2 Booker” handwritten on an inside tag.
Inside the backpack, Arizona highway patrol officers and the FBI found 18 grenades with the same lot number as the missing explosives.
In a second interview, Booker admitted the bag was his and that he’d taken that route but said the backpack had been stolen from him about a year earlier after he had left it in the Pinckney’s armory. He said he was especially upset about the theft because the bag had a gunner’s mate pin on the front that was hard to replace.
He then said he had seen the grenades out of their crate and had trained on their use, the complaint said.
A search of his home in Illinois turned up the pin he had talked about having been stolen. He acknowledged it was the same pin, according to the complaint.
A day later, Booker called an NCIS agent and reported that he had made several inquiries into the grenades with people in San Diego and directed agents to look in Tijuana for the two last missing ones. He said his former motorcycle club was associated with two people who had connections to the “cartel” and that the grenades were stolen at the request of the cartel, the complaint said.
He also continued to deny stealing the grenades but admitted going “into the box” at one point to confirm the grenades were present, the complaint states.
A search of Booker’s phone found that he conducted a Google search for “G911 grenade” on Jan. 25, 2017, watched a YouTube video about grenades and did another Google search, the complaint said.
Chicago Tribune’s Jason Meisner contributed.
http://fox5sandiego.com/2018/04/25/...ith-stealing-grenades-from-san-diego-warship/
Navy sailor charged with stealing grenades from San Diego warship
Posted 8:59 AM, April 25, 2018, by City News Service, Updated at 09:41AM, April 25, 2018
SAN DIEGO — A Navy man from Illinois was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stealing 20 hand grenades from the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney while serving aboard the San Diego-based ship.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service personnel took Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Booker into custody Tuesday morning at his duty post near Chicago.
Following his arraignment Tuesday morning, the 31-year-old serviceman is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing in the Northern District of Illinois before being transferred to San Diego to face trial in the case, authorities said.
Sailors aboard the Pinckney discovered the grenades missing last year during a routine inventory of explosives. Booker, previously a member of the ship’s weapons department, performed temperature checks of the storage crates containing the munitions on five occasions between November 2016 and January 2017, according to prosecutors.
Booker officially detached from the vessel in February 2017, at which point he left San Diego and drove to Naval Station Great Lakes to begin his new assignment.
Two months later, an off-duty police officer came across a black military-issue backpack leaning against a guardrail alongside Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona. In addition to a tag with “GM2 BOOKER” handwritten on it, the bag contained 18 of the grenades that went missing from USS Pinckney, court documents state.
According to a complaint in the case, Booker acknowledged to investigators that he traveled on that stretch of freeway before reporting to his new duty station in early March 2017. He provided conflicting statements, however, as to whether he had seen or touched the stolen explosive devices.
“A backpack full of grenades on the side of the road is obviously extremely dangerous and could have had resulted in injuries or death,” San Diego-area U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said. “The theft of explosives is a very serious offense, particularly if it is carried out by an insider with access to military weapons and secrets.”
If convicted on a federal charge of possessing stolen explosives, Booker will face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Authorities are still searching for the two grenades from the Pinckney that remain unaccounted for, according to court documents.
News Courts
Sailor charged with possessing explosives stolen from San Diego Navy ship
The destroyer Pinckney. (File photo)
Kristina DavisContact Reporter
A sailor was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of possessing 20 military grenades that had been stolen from a San Diego-based Navy destroyer — explosives that were later found abandoned on the side of a freeway in Arizona.
Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron A. Booker, 31, is charged with one count of possession of stolen explosives in a San Diego federal complaint that was unsealed Tuesday. He was arrested by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents in Great Lakes, Ill., where he is now stationed.
The shipment of 60 MK3A2 concussion hand grenades arrived on January 20, 2016, aboard the Pinckney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer ported at Naval Base San Diego, according to the complaint.
The explosives were packaged 20 to a crate, labeled as “G911 grenades.” Each contains about a half-pound of TNT and has a casualty radius of 2 meters, although fragments could be projected as far as 200 meters from the detonation point, authorities point out.
“These grenades are designed to be offensive and lethal weapons,” according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Chicago in the case.
The grenades were stored in a secured locker, with the only access given to gunner’s mates who would daily check the temperature in the unit, authorities said.
About a year later, in February 2017, a routine inventory revealed the bottom crate had a missing seal — and 20 missing grenades.
The 15 sailors who had access at the time were each interviewed, and each allowed NCIS agents to search their vehicles and homes. But the searches yielded nothing of use.
Some of the sailors in their interviews, however, indicated Booker had been angry with his commanding officer and entire chain of command aboard the Pinckney because he felt he’d been wrongly disciplined following an arrest in Arizona, court records state.
According to a search warrant unsealed in November in Chicago, Booker had been riding motorcycles with friends and fellow sailors near Yuma in October 2015 when one of the other riders tried to evade police. Booker was arrested on charges of unlawful flight from law enforcement and speeding over 85 mph, but Booker claims he was merely following the officer, not fleeing. The charges were dropped.
But his command determined the incident should be reviewed internally, and following a Disciplinary Review Board hearing he threatened to kill or harm his supervisor, the search warrant states. “If I’m in the armory, I don’t know what I’ll do,” he said. He was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after that, although his full access to the armory was later restored.
When the grenades were later discovered missing, Booker was in the process of transferring to his new command in Great Lakes.
In March, about a week into his new post, NCIS agents interviewed him about the missing explosives. He denied seeing them, opening the crates or having ever trained with them, the complaint states.
About a month later, on April 20, 2017, the grenades turned up — or most of them.
An off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy was waiting in traffic on Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona and spotted a backpack leaning on a guardrail on the side of the road. The black backpack was standard-issue military with “GM2 Booker” handwritten on an inside tag.
Arizona highway patrol officers and the FBI found inside 18 grenades with the same lot number as the missing explosives.
In a second interview, Booker admitted that the bag was his and that he’d taken the route, but said the backpack had been stolen from him about a year ago after he’d left it in the Pinckney’s armory. He stated he was especially upset about the theft because the bag had a GM pin on the front that was hard to replace.
He then said that he had seen the grenades out of their crate and had trained on their use, the complaint says.
A search of his home in Illinois turned up the GM pin he’d talked about having been stolen. He acknowledged it was the same pin, according to the complaint.
A day later, Booker called an NCIS agent and reported that he’d made several inquiries into the grenades with people in San Diego and directed agents to look in Tijuana for the last missing two. He said his former motorcycle club was associated with two people who had connections to the “cartel” and that the grenades were stolen at the request of the cartel, the complaint says.
He also continued to deny stealing the grenades but admitted going “into the box” at one point to confirm the grenades were present, the complaint states.
A search of Booker’s phone found that he conducted a Google search for “G911 grenade” on Jan. 25, 2017, watched a YouTube video about grenades and did another Google search, the complaint says.
Chicago Tribune staff writer Jason Meisner contributed to this report.
https://nypost.com/2018/04/24/us-sailor-accused-of-stealing-grenades-from-navy-ship/
News
Sailor accused of stealing grenades from Navy ship
By Associated Press
April 24, 2018 | 10:02pm | Updated
Modal Trigger
Getty Images
More On:
navy
Russian fighter jet intercepts US surveillance plane
Military sex assault reports surge by 10 percent
Department of Defense employee admits sexually abusing sleeping co-worker
Hero pilot who landed Southwest plane was once turned down by the Air Force
SAN DIEGO — A sailor was arrested in Illinois on Tuesday on charges he stole 20 hand grenades from a San Diego-based Navy destroyer, authorities said.
Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Booker, 31, of Waukegan, Illinois, was taken into custody in Great Lakes by U.S. Navy criminal investigators and was expected to be returned to California. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.
Booker stole the concussion grenades — each of which contained about a half-pound of TNT — while he was assigned to the Weapons Department aboard the USS Pinckney, prosecutors said. Booker’s job was to check the temperature of the secured locker where the grenades were kept.
The grenades were discovered missing from their storage crates in February 2017. He left the ship about a week later to drive to his new duty station in Great Lakes.
About two months later, a black military backpack containing 18 grenades was found leaning on a guardrail on the side of Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona, officials said. The words “GM2 BOOKER” were written on a tag inside the backpack, prosecutors said.
Booker told investigators that he had driven that road but said the backpack had been stolen from him and denied taking the grenades, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities continue to search for the two missing grenades, which Booker indicated to investigators might have wound up in Mexico, the complaint said.
It was unclear why the grenades were stolen or what the thief intended to do with them.
“A backpack full of grenades on the side of the road is obviously extremely dangerous and could have had resulted in injuries or death,” U.S. Attorney Adam L. Braverman said in a statement. “The theft of explosives is a very serious offense, particularly if it is carried out by an insider with access to military weapons and secrets.”
If convicted of possessing stolen explosives, Booker could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/navy-sailor-arrested-stealing-grenades-ship
Navy Sailor Arrested for Stealing Grenades from Ship
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Pettit (619) 546-7972
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 24, 2018
SAN DIEGO – Gunner's Mate Second Class Aaron Booker was arraigned in federal court today on charges that he possessed 20 stolen concussion hand grenades that went missing from San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney.
Booker, who had been stationed in San Diego when the alleged crime took place, was taken into custody this morning at his new post in Great Lakes, Illinois by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The United States is seeking removal of Booker to face charges in San Diego.
According to a complaint, USS Pinckney personnel discovered 20 grenades missing from their storage crates during a routine inventory of explosives on February 8, 2017. Designated personnel are required to conduct regular temperature checks in the locker that houses the crates, but no personnel should have accessed the crates themselves outside of an inventory. Booker was a member of the ship’s Weapons Department, and between November 2016 and January 2017, he conducted temperature checks for that locker on five separate occasions. The United States alleges that Booker removed these grenades from their storage crate and transported them off the ship. He officially detached from the ship on February 14, 2017, at which point he left San Diego and drove to his new duty station in Great Lakes, Illinois.
On April 20, 2017, an off-duty law enforcement officer discovered a black backpack on the side of the road leaning against a guardrail on Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona. The bag was a standard military issued backpack with “GM2 BOOKER” handwritten on a tag inside the bag, and it contained 18 of the grenades that were missing from USS Pinckney. Law enforcement is searching for the two missing grenades.
According to the complaint, Booker acknowledged to investigators that he drove that route before reporting to his new duty station in early March. However, he provided conflicting statements related to if and how he had seen or touched the grenades.
“A backpack full of grenades on the side of the road is obviously extremely dangerous and could have had resulted in injuries or death,” said U.S. Attorney Adam L. Braverman said. “The theft of explosives is a very serious offense, particularly if it is carried out by an insider with access to military weapons and secrets.”
“Navy sailors are trusted with maintaining dangerous and sensitive equipment onboard naval vessels to ensure the Navy is always prepared to protect and defend the interests of the United States,” said Belinda Saunders, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Southwest Field Office. “It is a violation of that trust for any service member to steal from the United States Navy for any reason. This case is particularly troubling given the explosive nature of what was stolen, which could have seriously injured others.”
Booker is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing in the Northern District of Illinois before he is transferred to San Diego.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...-waukegan-sailor-arrested-20180425-story.html
Suburbs Lake County News-Sun Lake County News
Sailor from Waukegan accused of stealing grenades from Navy ship in San Diego
A sailor from Waukegan was arrested on charges he stole 20 hand grenades from the San Diego-based Navy destroyer USS Pinckney, shown in April 2017. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Deanna C. Gonzales/U.S. Navy)
Kristina DavisSan Diego Union-Tribune
Privacy Policy
A sailor from Waukegan has been arrested at Naval Station Great Lakes on suspicion of possessing 20 military-grade grenades that had been stolen from a San Diego-based Navy destroyer — explosives that were later found abandoned on the side of a freeway in Arizona.
Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Booker, 31, was charged with one count of possession of stolen explosives in a San Diego federal complaint that was unsealed Tuesday.
Booker was arrested by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents at Great Lakes, where he has been stationed since early 2017. He is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing before a federal magistrate judge in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Thursday, records show.
According to the complaint, the shipment of 60 MK3A2 concussion hand grenades arrived Jan. 20, 2016, aboard the USS Pinckney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, while it was in port at Naval Base San Diego.
The explosives were packaged 20 to a crate, labeled as “G911 grenades.” Each contains about a half-pound of TNT and has a casualty radius of about 6 feet, although fragments could be projected as far as 650 feet, court records showed.
“These grenades are designed to be offensive and lethal weapons,” a search warrant affidavit filed as part of the probe said.
The grenades were stored in a secured locker, with access given only to gunner’s mates who would check the temperature in the unit daily, authorities said.
In February 2017, a routine inventory revealed the bottom crate had a missing seal and that all 20 grenades were missing.
The 15 sailors who had access at the time were each interviewed. All also allowed NCIS agents to search their vehicles and homes. But the searches yielded nothing of use, the charges allege.
Some of the sailors indicated in their interviews, however, that Booker had been angry with his commanding officer and the entire chain of command aboard the Pinckney because he felt he had been wrongly disciplined after an arrest in Arizona, according to the court records.
The search warrant affidavit, which was unsealed in November in Chicago, said Booker had been riding motorcycles with friends and fellow sailors near Yuma in October 2015 when one of the other riders tried to evade police. Booker was arrested on charges of unlawful flight from law enforcement and speeding over 85 mph, but Booker claimed he was merely following the officer, not fleeing.
The charges were dropped. But his commanding officers determined the incident should be reviewed internally, and after a Disciplinary Review Board hearing, he threatened to kill or harm his supervisors, according to the affidavit. Witnesses told investigators that Booker at one point said, “If I’m in the armory, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Booker’s words were taken as a threat of homicidal or suicidal ideation,” the affidavit said, and he was sent to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. He was later returned to regular duties on the Pickney, with full access to the armory and weapons on the ship, the affidavit said.
When the grenades were later discovered missing, Booker was in the process of transferring to his new command at Great Lakes.
In March 2017, about a week into his new post, NCIS agents interviewed him about the missing explosives. He denied seeing them, opening the crates or having ever trained with them, the complaint said.
About a month later, on April 20, 2017, the grenades turned up — or most of them.
An off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy was waiting in traffic on Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona and spotted a backpack leaning on a guardrail on the side of the road. The black backpack was standard-issue military with “GM2 Booker” handwritten on an inside tag.
Inside the backpack, Arizona highway patrol officers and the FBI found 18 grenades with the same lot number as the missing explosives.
In a second interview, Booker admitted the bag was his and that he’d taken that route but said the backpack had been stolen from him about a year earlier after he had left it in the Pinckney’s armory. He said he was especially upset about the theft because the bag had a gunner’s mate pin on the front that was hard to replace.
He then said he had seen the grenades out of their crate and had trained on their use, the complaint said.
A search of his home in Illinois turned up the pin he had talked about having been stolen. He acknowledged it was the same pin, according to the complaint.
A day later, Booker called an NCIS agent and reported that he had made several inquiries into the grenades with people in San Diego and directed agents to look in Tijuana for the two last missing ones. He said his former motorcycle club was associated with two people who had connections to the “cartel” and that the grenades were stolen at the request of the cartel, the complaint said.
He also continued to deny stealing the grenades but admitted going “into the box” at one point to confirm the grenades were present, the complaint states.
A search of Booker’s phone found that he conducted a Google search for “G911 grenade” on Jan. 25, 2017, watched a YouTube video about grenades and did another Google search, the complaint said.
Chicago Tribune’s Jason Meisner contributed.
http://fox5sandiego.com/2018/04/25/...ith-stealing-grenades-from-san-diego-warship/
Navy sailor charged with stealing grenades from San Diego warship
Posted 8:59 AM, April 25, 2018, by City News Service, Updated at 09:41AM, April 25, 2018
SAN DIEGO — A Navy man from Illinois was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stealing 20 hand grenades from the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney while serving aboard the San Diego-based ship.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service personnel took Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Booker into custody Tuesday morning at his duty post near Chicago.
Following his arraignment Tuesday morning, the 31-year-old serviceman is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing in the Northern District of Illinois before being transferred to San Diego to face trial in the case, authorities said.
Sailors aboard the Pinckney discovered the grenades missing last year during a routine inventory of explosives. Booker, previously a member of the ship’s weapons department, performed temperature checks of the storage crates containing the munitions on five occasions between November 2016 and January 2017, according to prosecutors.
Booker officially detached from the vessel in February 2017, at which point he left San Diego and drove to Naval Station Great Lakes to begin his new assignment.
Two months later, an off-duty police officer came across a black military-issue backpack leaning against a guardrail alongside Interstate 15 in northwest Arizona. In addition to a tag with “GM2 BOOKER” handwritten on it, the bag contained 18 of the grenades that went missing from USS Pinckney, court documents state.
According to a complaint in the case, Booker acknowledged to investigators that he traveled on that stretch of freeway before reporting to his new duty station in early March 2017. He provided conflicting statements, however, as to whether he had seen or touched the stolen explosive devices.
“A backpack full of grenades on the side of the road is obviously extremely dangerous and could have had resulted in injuries or death,” San Diego-area U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said. “The theft of explosives is a very serious offense, particularly if it is carried out by an insider with access to military weapons and secrets.”
If convicted on a federal charge of possessing stolen explosives, Booker will face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Authorities are still searching for the two grenades from the Pinckney that remain unaccounted for, according to court documents.
