LIMA — It wasn’t exactly what the buyer planned to find outside the home he was purchasing.
The Allen County Bomb Squad was called Sunday to investigate some suspicious devices — namely a hand grenade and several shotgun shells hanging from a tree — at a vacant residence in the 4000 block of Wolfe Road.
Deputies were notified at about 6:30 p.m. of the devices at the Bath Township location after receiving a call from William Melton, who was in the process of purchasing the property.
“It was a pretty unusual situation,” Melton said Monday. “It had us a little worried.”
Melton told dispatchers he located a grenade attached to a tree at the property at about 1 p.m. He later told officers there were three shotgun shells containing bird shot taped to another tree on the property. Several metal wires were hanging from the shells, but were not connected to anything and were removed from the tree before deputies arrived at the scene, Melton told officers.
The pineapple-shaped grenade was found taped to three plastic tubes, each about 7 inches in length, that were nailed to a tree on the property. No wires were seen coming from the device and it was later determined to be a disarmed grenade.
The bomb squad established a perimeter and briefly canvassed other parts of the property for additional devices or suspicious objects. No other objects were found, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.
Members of the bomb squad determined that the items found were not explosive devices and took the items into evidence.
The previous owner of the property was “ex-military and was a very paranoid type of person,” the Allen County Sheriff’s Office was told, according to a report.
Melton said law enforcement officials told him no laws had been broken by the property’s current owner.
“The home is off the road in a wooded lot, and I guess he just wanted to keep people off his property. The police said he can protect his property if he wants to.”
Deputies were unable to make contact with the seller of the property.
Melton said he still plans to purchase the property.
