Wheatland Man Finds Grenade In His Backyard
Police would like to remind you, if you see a grenade…do not pick it up.
By Admin on February 21, 2020
Steve Kesterson was minding his own business. Enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, gardening in his backyard in Wheatland. Just outside of Sacramento. Digging in the dirt, his shovel hit something unexpected. Metallic.
Kesterson picked it up, and immediately realized it was a grenade! More specifically, a WWII era grenade. Thinking it was a dud, he began to inspect it. Then he noticed the fuse.
“I thought, ‘Well, I didn’t want to put it on the ground, again, since it’s in my hands. It’s not going to go off, I hope,’” he said. “So, I figured, it’s only two seconds to the police station.” – Steve Kesterson/KCRA
Steve hopped in his car, and drove one-handed to the police station in Wheatland. He parked, and walked inside to the receptionist.
“The lady’s eyes bugged out and started yelling at the cops to come over here,” Kesterson recalled. “She (also) backed away.”
Officers put the grenade in the parking lot and blocked it off with yellow police tape. They then called the Beale Air Force Base bomb squad to help dispose of the ordnance.”
Eventually, a team from Beale Air Force Base was able to x-ray the grenade, and then remove it from the police station for detonation on base. KCRA has posted some photos of the scene.
A grateful Kesterson told KCRA he was still concerned there might be more explosives in his backyard, but that Beale AFB was sending a team to inspect the yard this weekend.
Police would like to remind you, if you see a grenade…do not pick it up. Leave it, get away, and call law enforcement.
