Police say California booby trap attacks carried out by man trying to derail drug case

Police: Booby trap suspect tried to derail case

LOS ANGELES — A man suspected of carrying out a string of booby trap attacks against the small Hemet Police Department was initially targeting an officer who arrested him last year for investigation of growing marijuana, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.

The suspect, Nicholas Smit, naively believed the pot case would go away if he killed or injured the officer, who also is a witness, said Karl Anglin, assistant special agent in charge of the Los Angeles division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“This guy we are dealing with is not very intelligent, that’s for sure,” Anglin said.

Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart said Smit would likely have served just six to eight months if convicted in the drug case.

“Now he is looking at a life sentence,” Wisehart said. “It’s just pretty silly.”

Police said Smit was arrested Friday for investigation of making a booby trap and assault on a police officer with intent to commit murder. His friend Steven Hansen was arrested for investigation of parole violation and weapons charges.

The men have not yet been charged. Both remained in custody and have not made a court appearance. It was unknown if they had requested or been assigned a lawyer. Telephone listings could not immediately be located for the suspects.

Anglin said the officer, whose name was not released, arrested Smit last fall. At the time, the officer was working for a special narcotics unit and was later moved to a gang detail, Wisehart said.

As concerns grew for his safety, the officer and his family were moved to a safe location, Anglin said.

The first attack came in early December, when someone left a crude device known as a punji trap at the officer’s home. The weapon was made from a series of wooden boards pierced by dozens of upward-pointing nails.

“They were left at the officer’s house, at his front porch, with a trip line so he would fall on those,” Anglin said.

In another attack, a natural gas pipe was pushed into a hole drilled through the roof of the gang enforcement unit’s headquarters. The building filled with flammable vapor, but the gas was detected before anyone was hurt.

The officer was again targeted March 5 when an explosive device that did not detonate was left on his car.

The ATF got involved in the case on Feb. 23, after a handmade gun was attached to a sliding gate at the Police Department’s gang enforcement building. An officer opening the gate escaped unharmed when the mechanism sent a bullet whizzing past his face.

It was not clear if the officer was the same one allegedly being targeted by Smit.

Hansen, a convicted arsonist, was being investigated for his ties to Smit. Investigators believe he may have been involved in some of the Hemet attacks.

“The arson fires didn’t start until he got out,” Anglin said.

On March 23, a structure at a police shooting range was burned, and in a June 30 attack a fire was lit at a police evidence building.

Among the items destroyed were some pieces of evidence from the Smit marijuana case, though it was not expected that would impact the case, authorities said.

In all, there have been at least eight attacks. On Tuesday, police found a hazardous device stuck to the bottom of a police car. The device was believed to have been there for up to 60 days.

Other attacks included an attempted assault with a bazooka round that failed to properly detonate, and an arson fire in which several city vehicles were set ablaze.

Other possible suspects were still being sought. A reward of up to $200,000 remained in place.

Hemet is a city of about 60,000 residents, located 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles.