For the second time in three days, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad dispatched a suspicious package found in the city of Santa Maria.
About 4:45 p.m. Sunday, officers were sent to the 800 block of Crown Court in response to a suspicious package left in front of a residence, according to a news release from the Santa Maria Police Department.
Police confirmed the device was suspicious and alerted the Sheriff’s Department bomb squad.
The package was rendered safe by the bomb squad at 8:13 p.m., police said.
“A subsequent investigation revealed the package was deliberately made to look like an explosive device,” police said in a news release.
This was the second incident involving the bomb squad in Santa Maria since Friday when a city worker found a plastic bottle wrapped in duct tape with an apparent fuse attached. The item was discovered at the Santa Maria Town Center West parking lot and taken to the city yard, where the bomb squad robot rendered it safe.
The suspicious devices looked different, police said Monday.
“We we have nothing to indicate they’re related,” police Sgt. Paul Flores said.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.