Inert pipe bombs found in search

Police are searching for answers to why three suspected car burglars had between six and eight suspected pipe bombs in their Costa Mesa apartment, officials said Wednesday.

Costa Mesa officers discovered the wrapped cylindrical objects while serving an arrest warrant Tuesday afternoon at the Mediterranean Village apartment complex, according to Costa Mesa police officials. Officers called in a county bomb squad.

The three didn’t explain why they had the homemade bombs, said police Sgt. Phil Myers.

The building and adjoining buildings in the complex in the 2400 block of Harbor Boulevard were evacuated for about three hours. Police said the objects appeared to be pipe bombs. Each cylinder was about 10 inches long and wrapped with tape and had caps on the tops.

Officials from the Costa Mesa Fire Department HAZMAT team and an Orange County Sheriff’s bomb squad determined the devices were inert, officials said.

Woman suspected of meth possession

A Costa Mesa woman, Jaclyn Dee Harper, 25, was one of three people arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property and methamphetamines after the warrant was served.

While searching the apartment, police found stolen property police they believe came from a string of recent vehicle burglaries in the city, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia that indicated intent to sell, officials said.

Melanie Marie Wisecup, 28, and Andrew Frank Weatherly Jr., 31, both of Ontario, were arrested along with Harper. Orange County Sheriff’s Department records show that Wisecup is free on bail.

Harper, who was just released from jail on Jan. 7, and Weatherly, Jr., are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday and are being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.