San Juan Capistrano, — A man who allegedly threatened to kill his former co-workers after he was fired from a nuclear power plant was in custody Wednesday after authorities found a weapons cache that included a rocket launcher and hand grenades.
Authorities said David Reza, 43, may have been angry after losing his job as a mechanic at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station for reasons utility officials refused to disclose. The officials said the plant itself was not threatened.
Reza was arrested late Tuesday and charged with making terrorist threats, possession of a controlled substance and illegal firearms counts.
He allegedly told an acquaintance, "they have taken my job, they have taken my life ... I'll take my guns and go to San Onofre and whack a bunch of people," Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo said.
In a telephone interview from jail, Reza told the Orange County Register he did not threaten anyone.
He said he was being picked on because he is an American Indian and because of an ongoing disability dispute with Southern California Edison, which runs the power plant 65 miles south of Los Angeles.
"I was just upset and told this guy ... 'do I have to come over there and put my foot in your (expletive) to get them moving?"' he said.
Deputies found 54 weapons at Reza's home and more than 250 in a San Juan Capistrano storage unit. The unit contained a hand-held, anti-tank rocket launcher, 4,000 to 5,000 rounds of ammunition and four inert hand grenades lying next to a container of explosive powder.
Two deputies were treated at a hospital after they were overcome by what officials believe was military-grade tear gas.
Reza said the guns found by deputies are antiques he has collected since he was a child.
"The police took a bunch of antiques," said Reza's live-in girlfriend, Kristi Mattauch. "I've called the NRA. This is just ridiculous. He didn't do anything wrong."
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