Man ‘Guarding’ Bus From Terrorists Gets Four Years

A man who told authorities that he tailed a bus filled with Olympic athletes last summer to protect them from terrorists was sentenced Friday to four years in state prison for possessing explosives and weapons that police found in his car.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald S. Coen, who prosecuted the case, said that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert T. Altman imposed the maximum possible sentence.

John S. Blackwell, 38, of Reseda was arrested July 31 after police spotted him driving erratically behind a bus carrying Olympic athletes from the Santa Anita race track to the Olympic Village at USC.

Police found a homemade hand grenade on the seat of the car, and, after a search of the auto, discovered four more grenades and three martial arts weapons.

Plea of Insanity

Blackwell’s attorney contended that his client was mentally disturbed and at one point entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. But Blackwell withdrew the plea and instead pleaded guilty Feb. 15 to one count of possession of a destructive device in public and one count of possession of an outlawed martial arts weapon.

At the time of his arrest, Blackwell was on probation for an earlier explosives conviction.

Coen said that Blackwell most likely will be eligible for parole in about a year because of the time in custody with which he has been credited. Blackwell has been in Los Angeles County Jail since his arrest.

The man who allegedly manufactured the explosives for Blackwell, Richard Max Cole, 26, of Northridge, is awaiting trial on separate explosives charges.