Now that Kevin E. Harris has been exposed as a bomb maker who seems to have tried to lure Costa Mesa police officers and paramedics to his Mesa Verde home, where the 52-year-old later blew himself up, Sean Lear has a question for local law enforcement:
How come you laughed me off a few years ago when I identified Harris as a threat?
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Kevin E. Harris, Costa Mesa Bomb Maker Who Blew Self Up, Left Bombs and Weird Manifesto
About 5:40 p.m. Sunday, cops and paramedics
were called to Harris' Bermuda Drive home, where the lone resident
was believed to have fallen near the front porch. But first responders
found him seated on the porch, where he refused any medical attention
or other assistance. Two hours later, officers
were called back to the same address by neighbors about an explosion. Harris was found
lying in the open front doorway, dead from ìnjuries suffered in the
blast, according to police.
A search of the home produced three more explosive
devices, two of which were detonated in a protected mobile unit. Neighbors later revealed Harris had written a bizarre manifesto that included an anti- secret-government weapon he had created called “The Pricker.”
In an email to the Weekly, Lear writes that local authorities are feigning not having known about the threat Harris posed. Lear says he warned the FBI and the Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley police departments about Harris years ago.
A few years back and shortly after 9/11 my friends received Harris' manifesto at their doorstep.
They saw the guy deliver it and thought he looked weird. Over the next few days we saw him delivering his newspaper sized pamphlet all around FV [Fountain Valley] and noticed how awkward and menacing he looked.
We took a look at the manifesto where, at the time, he described how to make a pricker and how he had protection measures set up in case the government tried to take him.
We thought that maybe the authorities should know so we contacted FVPD who told us he was just a crazy old man and to let CMPD know as they were keeping an eye on him. When we contacted CMPD they laughed at us and said the same, but flippantly told us if we wanted to make a big deal out of it to contact the FBI.
We took some time to email and call a few people and finally got a hold of a field agent who thanked us for the call and assured us that they knew about Kevin Harris and had assessed that he was not a “credible threat” and we should not be concerned.
I find it funny that now that Harris' story has unfolded that law enforcement is showing concern over this considering that shortly after a horrible tragedy like 9/11 they seemingly couldn't care less…
Given Sunday's events, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Greg Scott, the department's spokesman, says the Investigations Bureau wants to know more about Harris and his threats. Call detectives, who surely won't laugh you off, at 714.754.5087.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.