Yucaipa Deputies, Redlands PD Arrest 5 Suspects in Alleged Chemical Bombings

Yucaipa deputies and Redlands police arrested five suspects Friday and accused them of a string of nine chemical bombings in the Yucaipa area in October, according to the Sheriff's Department.

According to a news release, the alleged bombings involved 17 explosive devices between Oct. 4 and Oct. 8.

"The reported explosions caused several victims to suffer property damage while others narrowly avoided sustaining personal bodily injury or worse," deputies said in the release.

The alleged bombings occurred at the following locations in Yucaipa:

- 12000 block of 4th Street
- 34000 block of Avenue J
- 34000 block of Wildwood Canyon Road

"The bombs were all constructed in the same manner and are commonly referred to as 'Chemical Bombs' or 'Acid Bombs,'" deputies said. "As a result, Yucaipa detectives and investigators from the Sheriff's Bomb/Arson division began a lengthy investigation, covering several weeks."

Five suspects were identified and Yucaipa detectives and FBI agents interviewed each one of them. The suspects denied involvement but detectives obtained unspecified evidence linking each suspect to the October bombing incidents, deputies said.

Arrest and search warrants were obtained for each suspect, and Yucaipa detectives, Redlands police and San Bernardino County probation personnel served the warrants Friday.

All five suspects were taken into custody without incident. They were identified as:

- Ryan Cherry, 20, of Yucaipa
- Matthew Garris, 22, of Yucaipa
- Jeremy Erickson, 21, of Yucaipa
- Daniel Wurl, 20, of Yucaipa
- Joseph Keddy, 20, of Yucaipa

The suspects were transported and booked at Central Detention Center for felony violation of Penal Code 18740 - possess, explode or attempt to explode any destructive device. Bail was set for each suspect at $1 million.

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