VISALIA, CA — A 37-year-old man was arrested Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, after the Visalia Police Department Bomb Unit removed a live explosive from a home on South Church Street.
The incident began shortly before 10 a.m. near the intersection of Church Street and Myrtle Avenue. A Visalia police officer and a probation officer stopped the man for a routine check.
The stop led authorities to the man’s home in the 600 block of South Church Street, near Cypress Street. During a search of his room, officers discovered an object that looked like a grenade.
The Visalia Police Department Bomb Unit responded to the home to examine the device. Experts confirmed the object was a live explosive and removed it from the property without incident, according to Fox 26 News.
Police confirmed no one was injured and the neighborhood was safe once the unit took the explosive away to be destroyed.
The suspect was booked into the Tulare County Jail for possessing an explosive device. Authorities confirmed the explosive was functional, but they have not said where it came from or what the man planned to do with it.
