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Crime & Safety

"Suspicious" Objects Close First Street

Some businesses were unable to open their doors until noon on Wednesday.

Two suspicious objects discovered on Main Street in downtown Napa early Wednesday morning kept a number employees and businesses from opening their doors until nearly noon.

The questionable items were found about 6:30 a.m., near the Goodman Library at about 6:30 a.m. and the heart of downtown did not reopen until around noon, according to a Napa Police Department press release.

Both suspicious devices were discovered in the 1200 block of First Street by a city employee who handles graffiti removal.

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One item appeared to be a military type of ammunition can, while the second object appeared to be a circuit board with wire connectors combined in a bundle.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad was called in to detonate the suspicious objects.The sheriff’s bomb team used their robot and X-ray equipment to examine the devices, according to the press release.

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To make the business area safe, the bomb team used small explosive devices and a water cannon to diffuse the items, the press release added.

A two-block radius of First Street was closed off as bomb technicians processed the scene and collected evidence.

At least three businesses were not able to let employees into the shops: Quent Cordair Fine Arts, Sala Salon and The Napa Valley Toy Company felt the impact of the discovery of the suspicious devices.

Renee Fannin, owner of the toy store, was picking up product in St. Helena when she learned from Facebook of two suspicious items found on First Street.

Fannin, who usually opens at 9 a.m. was not able to open for business until noon.

“It’s hard to put a dollar amount on lost business,” Fannin said. “I hope everyone will still come down for the Chefs Market,” she added (the open air market kicks off tonight).

Linda Cordair, of Quent Cordair Fine Art, said she hopes authorities catch whoever is responsible for the suspicious devices “and punish them.”

The art gallery usually opens at 11 a.m., but wasn’t able to open its doors until noon. Cordair’s husband Quent Cordair, first learned of the closure after receiving a text message on his cell phone from law enforcement.

“I don’t think something like this is the image we want to project of downtown,” Linda Cordair said.

When she arrived at the gallery the radius of the closure was trimmed to one block, according to Linda Cordair.

At Sala Salon, employee Lee Richardson was in the building at the time of the street closure. He and other employees had to use a back door to come and go from the salon.

He said they were able to reopen for business about 10 a.m.

According to the press release, the incident is being investigated by NPD’s Investigation Bureau.

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