Boyfriend arrested in deadly cannon explosion
A woman was killed while sleeping in this trailer in Potrero early March 6. A sheriff's crime-scene photographer looked at a gash next to the door, possibly where shrapnel from an exploding cannon entered the trailer. — John Gibbins By
Debbi Baker and
John Wilkens 7:22 a.m., March 6, 2012
Updated 4:35 p.m. EAST COUNTY — A 38-year-old woman was killed and her boyfriend was arrested Tuesday after authorities said the man ignited a homemade cannon that sent shrapnel into their Potrero trailer around midnight.
52 year-old John Arnold, who has lived his whole life in Potrero, was a friend of the couple. He stood on the hillside above the home where the accident happened and talked about the accident and the community. — John Gibbins Authorities were called to the remote property on Potrero Valley Road, north of the Twin Lakes Resort mobile home park, about 12:05 a.m., sheriff’s Sgt. David Martinez said.
When they arrived, they found the woman inside the trailer dead from massive injuries, Martinez said. Her name has not been released.
The boyfriend, identified as Richard Fox, 39, told investigators he had ignited the makeshift artillery outside the trailer and it went off.
Martinez said Fox had loaded the cannon with powder taken from fireworks.
He was also injured in the explosion and suffered shrapnel wounds to his right leg, Martinez said.
The victim, who was awake at the time, the couple’s 4-year-old daughter, and three other adults were inside the trailer when the cannon fired, Martinez said. No one else was injured.
Authorities are working to place the child with a relative, Martinez said.
Fox was treated and released from a hospital and booked into jail on charges of willfully and maliciously exploding or igniting a destructive device or explosive causing death, Martinez said.
He said alcohol may have played a role in the incident.
John Arnold, a friend and neighbor of Fox, said, “He liked experimenting with guns and it looks like this experiment went bad.”
Fox worked in the area as a handyman and had lived in the trailer for about six years, Arnold said.
He said Fox loved the woman and their daughter.
“I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now,” Arnold said.
The child’s godmother, Sandra Barrañon, who lives in the Twin Lakes Resort mobile home park, said she has known the couple for about 10 years and considered the victim her best friend. The couple were not married, she said.
“All she cared about was being a great person and a great mom,” Barrañon said. “She was the most incredible, the most helpful person you would ever want to meet.”
She said the victim was unemployed, enjoyed doing the New York Times crossword puzzle, and kept the trailer neat and clean.
Sheriff’s detectives and members of the department’s bomb squad were handling the investigation. They were waiting to obtain a search warrant before returning to the property.
Martinez said he did not know why Fox had the cannon or other details about the device.
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