MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Puyallup man charged for live grenade in refrigerator, drugs and weapons

Jun 27, 2014, 6:12 PM | Updated: 6:21 pm

A Puyallup man faces multiple charges after police serving a search warrant for drugs also found multiple weapons including a machine gun and a live hand grenade inside his bedroom refrigerator.

“This would have been a routine drug case with a pound of meth and half a pound of heroin except for the defendant was stockpiling weapons,” says Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “Drugs, guns and grenades are a bad mix.”

Lindquist on Friday charged Joshua Lobben, 26, with five counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, one count each of possession of an explosive device and unlawful possession of a machine gun, and five counts of second degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Lindquist says a narcotics task force served a search warrant at Lobben’s home June 25. He admitted to selling drugs and warned officers about the live grenade.

The State Patrol Bomb Squad safely removed the live hand grenade from the refrigerator. Officers then discovered a safe which contained 480 grams of methamphetamine, 250 grams of heroin, 77 Ecstasy pills, 50 oxicodone pills, 21 hydrocodone pills, packaging materials, a digital scale and $13,000 cash, Lindquist says.

They also found a MP-5 sub-machine gun with the selector switch set to “full-auto.” Officers also found notes and records related to drug sales.

Lobben was arraigned Friday and is being held in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

“He’ll be sitting in jail at least until a pre-trial conference in a couple of weeks,” Lindquist says.

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Puyallup man charged for live grenade in refrigerator, drugs and weapons