Princeton man pleads no contest to weapons charges

A 66-year-old man who caused an explosion last year at a Princeton commercial lot has pleaded no contest earlier this week to charges of illegally possessing a loaded rifle and a destructive device.

The defendant, John Blanchard, faces 45 days in jail for the felonies.

On the day of the explosion, Blanchard had reportedly left a propane torch ignited on a dryer near a camper trailer at a commercial storage yard at the 200 block of Yale Avenue where he lived, according to San Mateo County Sheriff's officials. The torch lit a container of gunpowder he was storing, causing a loud explosion and fire that led emergency officials to the scene.

Sheriff's deputies who investigated the incident said they later learned that Blanchard was under the influence of methamphetamine. During a search of his trailer, emergency officials found a loaded rifle, more gunpowder and about 300 feet of detonation cord - items that were illegal for him to possess as a former felon.

Blanchard's attorney, Steve Chase, said his client had scavenged the detonation cord from a waste bin, believing it was rope. The rifle, Chase said, actually belonged to Blanchard's girlfriend, a distinction that nonetheless still was a crime for a former felon.

"Ignorance is not a defense," Chase explained. "But I think there's no criminality in this man's heart. There's nothing that indicates he intended to endanger anyone."

Chase has filed an appeal of the case, arguing that during the investigation of Blanchard's trailer, Sheriff's deputies illegally searched a security safe where they found the detonation cord. That appeal case is scheduled for a court hearing in December.