Grenade detonated in front of Arcadia Police Department

ARCADIA -- The bomb squad detonated a live World War I and II-era grenade on the lawn in front of the Arcadia Police Department Wednesday after a woman brought the explosive to the police station, authorities said.

A woman in her 60s, who was staying with friends in Arcadia, found the grenade in the garage of her former residence in Los Angeles, Arcadia police Sgt. Tom Le Veque said. She brought it to the Arcadia police station, 250 W. Huntington Drive, about 3 p.m.

Police called in the Los Angeles County sheriff's bomb squad, who removed the grenade from the woman's car and decided the safest move would be to detonate it right there.

"They ended up asking public works to come out and they dug a hole on the lawn outside the police department -- several feet deep with sandbags," Le Veque said.

Bomb squad members placed the grenade in the hole, covered it and set it off, police said.

Arcadia resident Faith Arnold said she found the British grenade in her deceased father's possessions and was unsure what to do with it. Her father was a WWII veteran.

"Once we got to the police station they told us it was a live World War I hand grenade," Arnold said.

In a written statement, Arcadia police officials said, "The grenade was a live 'Mills Bomb' commonly used by British military from 1915-1970s."

Arnold added experts believed the grenade came from India, and her father likely brought it home from there.

The man kept the grenade in his Glassell Park garage for years.

Once the bomb squad detonated the device it "disintegrated," Arnold said. She said the Arcadia Police Department recovered only the safety pin and may return it to her as a souvenir.

The incident lasted about three hours, Le Veque said. Nearby city buildings remained open, though the south-facing entrances and exits were blocked.

Le Veque advised anyone who finds any explosive not to move it. Leave it in place and call the police.

Older explosives, especially, can deteriorate and become unsafe to handle or transport, he added.

This type of incident is actually, "not that uncommon," Le Veque said. "We probably get one or two of this type of incident every year."

PHOTO of grenade courtesy of the Arcadia Police Department.