PORT ANGELES — A Port Angles couple were charged Wednesday with possessing dynamite believed to be stolen from the West End in 2002.
One of the recovered sticks will be destroyed because it has become unstable, said Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. Nick Turner.
The remaining sticks are being stored as evidence.
Matthew Caly Borden, 42, and Linda Kay Borden, 47, were each charged with possession of explosives without a license and second-degree possession of stolen property in Clallam County Superior Court.
Matthew Borden’s bail was set at $10,000 and Linda Borden was released on her own personal recognizance.
Three or four sticks of dynamite were recovered from the couple’s residence on the 2000 block of East Keller Drive on Tuesday, Turner said.
The sticks are about two inches in diameter and 16 inches long, weighing about a pound each.
Believed stolen
Deputies were tipped off by an informant about the explosives, and they believed that the explosives had been stolen from the Beaver Falls Rock Quarry in the Forks area in May 2002, according to court documents.
About 55 pounds of dynamite was stolen from the site.
“The quantity is not what it could be,” Turner said, noting that deputies believe Matthew Borden participated in the burglary of the storage facility at the quarry.
However, Turner was told that in 2005, federal agents had recovered about 40 pounds of dynamite found near the west side of Lake Crescent, he said.
Deputies got a search warrant for the residence Tuesday evening and a bomb squad comprised of members of the Washington State Patrol, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Department and Bremerton police assisted in the search for the explosives.
Matthew Borden will not be charged with burglary in state courts because the state statute of limitations on burglaries has expired, but federal prosecutors will likely review the case for additional charges, Turner said.
About six residences surrounding the Borden’s residence and out-structures were asked to voluntarily evacuate the immediate area.
Turner said they have returned.
Turner said he didn’t know what Borden would do with dynamite.
“He doesn’t have any stumps to blow out,” Turner said.
Both Bordens are scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 29.
