A man who confessed to police that he placed explosive devices on the Ocean Beach Pier after reading about the crime in the Peninsula Beacon had his case dismissed by a judge last week on grounds of insufficient evidence, according to court records.
However, prosecutors quickly refiled the same felony charge of possessing a destructive device while the defendant remains in jail.
Matthew Titterton, 31, called San Diego police from a pay phone on March 25, claiming to have made 12 homemade glass-bottle firebombs containing gasoline, and that he left them on the Ocean Beach Pier Feb. 15, court records show.
Titterton told police he was concerned because he claimed the story said there were only five devices recovered, and he wondered what happened to the others.
In actuality, there were eight bottles discovered in a 5-gallon plastic bucket at the end of the pier, records show. Seven beer bottles and one wine bottle contained an explosive liquid and had a wick, according to court records. However, Titterton contends he made firebombs with 11 beer bottles and one whiskey bottle. David Tucker, an investigator with the fire department, described the devices as Molotov cocktails.
Titterton said he wanted to turn himself in to police because he thought about using the devices against police. An officer asked him to wait by the phone, and he was subsequently arrested. He continued to talk about the apparent plot after being placed in a patrol car but eventually asked for an attorney, according to records.
A judge at Titterton’s April 12 preliminary hearing ruled that all statements Titterton made to police after he asked for an attorney be thrown out. Titterton’s comments on the phone and to a police officer who arrested him were not suppressed and were allowed as evidence against him. A June 15 trial date was set. But on May 29, San Diego Superior Court Judge Albert Harutunian III dismissed the charge for insufficient evidence after hearing arguments by Titterton’s attorney, Stacy Gulley. The order was stayed until June 7, and Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey refiled the same charge the same day it was dismissed.
Titterton has remained in custody since March 25 at the George F. Bailey Detention Facility on $50,000 bail. A preliminary hearing in the new case is set for June 20.