Placerville police say man’s motives unclear for possessing Molotov cocktail

A man was arrested after police said he was spotted in Placerville with a Molotov cocktail.

Placerville police said they were called to Washington Street Wednesday afternoon for a disturbance. Once there, officers reportedly saw Ryan Garnett, 26, holding a liquid-filled bottle, a make-shift wick hanging from the top.

Upon seeing officers, Garnett ran into a home, discarding the unlit explosive device, according to a police press release. Garnett was arrested inside the house and the bottle rendered safe.

“With the ongoing drought and extreme fire risk, and the unknown intentions of the suspect, this could have gone in several tragic directions, if not for the quick intervention by the officers,” said Police Sgt. Ron Cannon.

Garnett was arrested on suspicion of possession of an improvised explosive device. He was being held on $1 million bail.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Placerville police say man’s motives unclear for possessing Molotov cocktail."