Grenade found at newsstand startles local man

The hand grenade had been tampered with, and the detonator was removed, rendering it harmless. When Barry Mielich ventured out to pick up the afternoon edition of the local paper, only to find the grenade sitting there underneath rumpled up papers, there was no way of knowing it was not activated. "Yeah, I'd say it took me by surprise," Mielich said.

Even though the detonator had been removed everyone seemed pretty sure it was a legitimate grenade. "It was the real deal all right," said Mielick, who works as an electrician in the area.

When asked about the twenty minute delay before officers arrived, Mielick commented that it was pretty fortunate the detonator had been removed because it took him a longtime to get local officials through his wireless cell phone.

"It's a real joke. This thing sends you all the way out to Michigan then transfers you back," Mielick said about the wireless 911 service.

According to the local watch commander, the response time on a call of that nature would be immediate. Standard procedures for an explosives call is for officers to go in and establish the perimeters of the scene. The Bomb Squad is also called in.

While trying to get through on his cell phone, Mielick told an area business owner about the hand grenade. At that point, it became clear that the hand grenade had been floating around downtown all day. The owner of San Mateo LockWorks saw it, realized it was harmless, and sent it out with the dump, earlier in the day. But somehow it made its way back downtown, Mielick said.