OAKLAND — What turned out to be a hoax explosive device was found Tuesday morning during a search by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of a suspected serial bank robber’s home in the Oakland hills, authorities said.
Sources identified the suspect as Duane Makela, 49, and said he had been arrested just before 7 a.m. Tuesday at a hospital where his wife had given birth.
In a statement, Orinda police said its officers, helped by Oakland police, arrested Makela in connection with two Orinda bank robberies last year after investigators working with the FBI pegged him as a suspect.
He was booked into Martinez county jail on suspicion of robbery and drug-possession charges and held on $150,000 bail.
The device was found before 9 a.m. in a vehicle parked at the house in the 2400 block of Stockbridge Drive, a residential area of expensive homes between Skyline Boulevard and Shepherd Canyon Road.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad responded to the scene and determined it was not an actual bomb but a “hoax device” made to look like a bomb, authorities said. As a precaution there were reported evacuations of residents in the area.
The FBI, which would not comment further on the device or investigation, later said only that it had been “mitigated” and there was no threat to public safety.
Authorities said the house has been owned by Makela’s family for many years and that he had lived there for some time. He has also lived in Michigan, authorities said. Family members had not responded to a request for comment by late afternoon.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact the Orinda Police Department at (925) 254-6820. For any tips, call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message or email: tips@so.cccounty.us.