STOCKTON, Calif. — Residents who were evacuated when explosives were found inside of a Stockton home Thursday can head back home after military specialists determined the bombs were replicas, police officials said.
The explosives were found while Stockton Police Officers searched a home during a welfare check. Officers found William White Jr., 71, dead of natural causes inside of his home near Rockford Avenue and Richland Way.
Family members searched through the man's belongings and found the explosives.
Bomb specialists with Travis Air Force Base were called to the scene to help officers investigate the hundreds of military explosives, most of which turned out to be replicas.
"So, the very vast majority of them were absolutely made to look like they were real," said Lt. Col. Glenn Cameron, with the Travis Air Force Base. "There were one or two that had been inerted, which means basically they were drilled out, the primer or cap or anything else removed all of the powder on all of them."
More than 20 homes in the area were evacuated as officers cornered off several streets. The investigation went well into Friday afternoon when seven explosive ordnance disposal technicians returned to the home to continue assisting.
Renee Hill, who was one of the neighbors evacuated Thursday, told ABC10 that she has known White for at least 20 years.
"Bill was a really nice guy, kept to himself, never caused any problems," Hill said. "And, yeah, he socialized with people in the neighborhood."
Travis Air Force Base would not comment on the exact makeup of the military-style replicas.
Stockton Police officials told ABC10 that White had no military background and was only a collector of the replicas.
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Bomb specialists from Travis Air Force Base will return to the Stockton home where hundreds of military explosives at 9 a.m. Friday.