A former high school security guard has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for allegedly collaborating with a student to sell explosives on Instagram.
Angelo Jackson Mendiver, 27, has admitted to his involvement in a conspiracy related to the production and distribution of explosive materials, as well as mailing explosive devices and providing false information to FBI agents, as detailed in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and supporting court documents.
Mendiver, previously serving as a campus security supervisor at Arvin High School in Arvin, Calif., was reported to have collaborated with an East Bakersfield High School student to facilitate transactions and dispatch explosives through the mail to individuals in other states, as stated by prosecutors. Both institutions belong to the Kern High School District, where he had served for many years, as indicated in a sentencing proposal provided by his defense attorney.
On August 13, 2022, federal investigators became aware of the explosives when a postal employee noticed what seemed to be improvised explosive devices inside a package that had been accidentally opened, as stated in the redacted criminal complaint acquired by PEOPLE.
On that same day, a specialized agent responsible for bomb disposal discovered 62 makeshift explosive devices inside the package, as detailed in the complaint, which specifies that the devices measured approximately six inches in length. Through remote analysis of one of the devices, investigators found it held approximately 70 grams of energetic material.
An interview with one of Mendiver’s purported buyers revealed that these devices were priced at $10 each, according to the c omplaint.
Several months afterward, authorities reportedly linked “an apparent explosive device found in a women’s restroom at” a Newark, N.J., airport to Pyro Direct, a firm that provided parts utilized in the construction of improvised explosive devices associated with Mendiver, according to the complaint.
It has been reported that the company provided components utilized in the device found at the airport to eight clients, one of whom is a high school student referred to in the complaint as M.M.
In messages on Instagram referenced in the edited complaint and elaborated upon by federal prosecutors in the announcement, Mendiver shared two videos of homemade explosive devices with M.M., stating: “I created both of these.” In response to the teen’s enthusiastic remarks, Mendiver remarked, “homemade surpasses all store-bought options.”
In another message, prosecutors say he warned the teen: “super careful bro that homemade s— is dangerous.”
During a search of Mendiver’s residence in June 2023, federal agents confiscated 536 lbs. of uncontained explosives and explosive materials. Prosecutors highlighted in a press release that these items posed an extreme safety hazard to the surrounding residents.
Authorities reportedly discovered an additional 440 lbs. of uncontained explosives and related materials at M.M.’s residence, according to prosecutors, who also noted that agents uncovered items utilized in the production of explosives at both locations.
Mendiver, having been associated with the school district intermittently since his early graduation in 2014, initially joined the maintenance operations department and later took on the role of a security guard for the district and Arvin High School, as detailed in a September sentencing memorandum from his lawyer seeking a reduced sentence.
Authorities have indicated that the case involving the teenager is being managed by the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.