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Suspicious suitcase outside Turlock building prompts bomb squad call
bomb squad
The Stanislaus County Sheriffs Department bomb squad was called out after a suspicious suitcase was found near a government building in Turlock. - photo by TARA LEVY/The Journal

A suspicious case left near a government building in Turlock prompted a call to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s bomb squad Thursday morning.

Streets surrounding the Stanislaus County Community Services Agency at 101 Lander Avenue were closed for about an hour and a half as the bomb squad investigated the package. There was no explosives device found.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday a security guard at the agency located a large black suitcase that had been left near a window on the south side of the building, said Turlock Police Department spokesperson Officer Mayra Lewis.

“Given that it was in an isolated location near the building we decided to proceed with caution and made the call to activate the bomb squad,” Lewis said.

The suitcase turned out to be carrying a retinal scanning device with the tags still attached. Lewis said investigators were looking into the possibility the retinal scanner was stolen during a burglary.

“It was definitely strange,” Lewis said.