Bomb Probe Turns Up Vibrator

APRIL 19--A California Highway Patrol office was briefly evacuated earlier this month when investigators became concerned that an arrestee might have been carrying a concealed explosive device. When officers collared Steven Ferrini on a drug charge, a search of the 60-year-old suspect turned up 'a suspicious wire, with an on/off switch' in his pants pocket. 'The wire was found to extend from the pant pocket to the subject's anus,' according to a CHP report, a copy of which you'll find here.

Though Ferrini claimed that the wire was connected to an anal vibrator, officers became suspicious when he subsequently 'began to explain his knowledge of explosives and bomb making.' So they called in El Dorado County's 'explosive ordinance disposal' team and, at 5:45 AM, evacuated 'all unnecessary personnel' from the CHP's South Lake Tahoe office.

At about 9 AM, the bomb squad 'rendered the device safe' and determined it was not dangerous. The report does not indicate why more than three hours passed before the vibrator was found not to be an explosive device. 'The vibrator was subsequently removed and placed into property,' according to report, which does not identify the CHP employee tasked with that unfortunate evidence collection responsibility.

Ferrini is pictured at left in an El Dorado County Sheriff's Office mug shot snapped following his April 7 arrest. (3 pages)