A California high school security guard has been convicted of running a homemade explosives business with a teenager he was supposed to protect.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 27-year-old Angelo Jackson Mendiver pleaded guilty to, among other things, conspiracy to manufacture and traffic explosives and making false statements to FBI agents.
The former Kem School District high school employee was arrested in June after investigators found about 500 pounds of explosives at his Bakersfield home and another 500 pounds at his teenage co-worker's home.
To sell their products, the two suspects promoted the explosives through an Instagram account that posted images and videos of the explosives, court documents show.
The duo had customers across the United States who bought the explosives delivered by the suspects in the mail, investigators told the New York Post newspaper, which tried to get school officials to respond.
While awaiting sentencing, suspect Mendiver, who faces no fewer than four charges, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million, it said.