On 12-19-17 at about 3:30 pm, the Curry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from the owner of Wild River Pizza Cody Miller in Harbor, reporting that unknown subjects had thrown what appeared to be multiple smoke bombs onto floors and that the substance was continually cracking and popping. Miller did not have any suspect information at the time but said the event would be captured on video.
Sheriff’s Deputies and Detective quickly arrived and found that the suspect(s) spread some type of chemical on the floor that continued to activate by touch or stepping on it. The substance emitted a purple haze each time it activated and it sounded like a 22 caliber gunshot going off. The substance caused damage to the floor of the establishment.
The Harbor Fire Department responded and secured the area while the building was evacuated. A chemist teacher from the Brookings Harbor High School was summoned and determined that the chemical substance could be neutralized by baking soda. The Harbor Fire Department cleaned the area and made it safe for re-entry.
After reviewing the video, it appeared that there were at least three suspects involved.
On 12-20-17, with video evidence, one suspect was identified by Brookings Police Officers as forty-year-old James Snyder of Harbor. With additional evidence obtained at the scene and a financial search, it was determined that Snyder was at the location during the incident and was involved.
At about 11:50 am, Sheriff’s Deputies contacted Snyder at his residence where he lived and listed as a caregiver for with his grandmother and aunt. Snyder was arrested on several charges relating to the incident at Wild River Pizza and transported to the Curry County Jail. Snyder denied a consent search of his residence and a Sheriff’s Detective applied for a search warrant to search for explosive devices and chemicals to manufacture destructive explosive devices.
At about 3:05 pm, a signed search warrant was served on Snyder’s residence and as Deputies started the search, they found what appeared to be chemicals and bomb-related items. The Oregon State Police Bomb Squad was contacted and at their request, the residence was vacated until they could arrive.
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