Costa Mesa man who died in blast is linked to rambling online essay
A man who apparently blew himself up with explosives in his Costa Mesa home wrote a rambling, 17,000-word essay that warned of dangers in his house, according to a person close to the investigation.
“I am at 3152 Bermuda Dr., Costa Mesa, CA, USA. You can tell it’s me because I am the only one who can get into my house,” reads the document authored by a man who identifies himself as Kevin Harris. “I think it may be dangerous for you to come to my house alone.”
The essay, entitled “The Pricker: A True Story of Assassination, Terrorism And High Treason,” includes references to aliens, the O.J. Simpson trial, the U.S. government and “the pricker,” which the author describes as “an assassin’s weapon that deposits biological agents into a victim’s skin, on contact, without their knowledge.”
The document appears to have been first written in 2002 and updated in 2005. The website labels it a “draft of a work in progress.”
A bomb squad in Costa Mesa continued Monday to comb through the home at 3152 Bermuda Dr., the site of the apparent suicide Sunday evening. Public records confirm that Harris, 52, lived in the house.
Authorities said Monday that three more explosive devices were found in the home. Two of the devices, described as crudely made, were detonated and crews were preparing to handle the third.
More than a dozen nearby homes have been evacuated as multiple agencies -- including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Costa Mesa police and the Orange County Fire Authority -- remained on the scene.
The incident began Sunday evening, neighbors told KTLA-TV, when a man was lying in his front yard, unresponsive. An ambulance was called, but the man refused to go to the hospital and went back inside.
About an hour or two later, neighbors told the television station, an explosion occurred. The man was found dead.
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Twitter: @katemather
kate.mather@latimes.com
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