Final Debris to Be Removed from Escondido 'Bomb-House' Wednesday

The final soil, debris and ash left from a controlled burn of an Escondido house where a huge assortment of bomb-making materials was found will be hauled away Wednesday.

Crews tore down the 16-foot-high wall Tuesday that had been constructed along the north side of the house to protect a neighboring home during Thursday's controlled burn.

A 40-cubic-yard roll-off box of wrapped ash and debris was taken to the Otay Landfill and two 55-gallon drums of flooring materials and furnace pipe insulation containing asbestos were prepared for shipment to a hazardous waste landfill.

All the waste is being disposed of in a manner that protects public health, said Mark McPherson, director of the land and water quality division of the San Diego County Environmental Health Department. Crews removed a 15- and another 40- cubic-yard roll-off boxes of metal for recycling.

The incineration of the house at 1954 Via Scott destroyed all the explosives and hazardous materials inside so the debris could safely be dumped in landfills, said Michael Drake, spokesman for San Diego County.

Crews from the state, county and private companies worked together to clean up the site, and California's Department of Toxic Substances Control and the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health oversaw the removal process, Drake said.

George Djura Jakubec, 54, who rented the house with his wife for about
four years, pleaded not guilty Monday to eight federal criminal counts and was
ordered held without bail.

The Serbian native is accused of manufacturing and possessing destructive devices, as well as robbing three banks and trying to rob a fourth over the past two years. Authorities have not disclosed a motive for Jakubec's alleged bomb-making activities.

According to former neighbors and research by East County Magazine, Jakubec lived with his parents in a home in Ramona's San Diego Country Estates from 1988 to 1992. According to the magazine, he had used the address for a contractor's license.

City News Service contributed to this report.