CHESAPEAKE--Police found a small arsenal of explosives and firearms materials in the home of a Coast Guardsman accused in a rampage last week in Massachusetts that left a fellow Coast Guard member dead, a second one wounded, and, a Massachusetts police officer injured.
Petty Office Second Class Adrian Loya, based in Portsmouth, living in Chesapeake, is accused of ambushing police and shooting two other guard members.
According to a search warrant executed at Loya's Shoal Creek Trail townhouse, police found found four sets of explosive materials, called "Thunder B Distraction Devices," which are usually used for Airsoft or paintball games, along with six C-O2 canisters The warrant says "Loya indicated he put the devices together at his residence in Chesapeake."
Police also found ammunition for a long rifle, a shotgun and a nine-millimeter Luger handgun. Additionally investigators confiscated various computer hard drives, data cards and X-Box consoles.
Loya is accused in last week's shooting spree in Massachusetts, and is now charged with first degree murder. The victims have been identified as 31-year-old Coast Guard Petty Officer Lisa Trubnikova, who died, and 30-year-old Coast Guard Petty Officer Anna Trubnikova. Also shot was Bourne Police Officer Jared McDonald . Loya pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Falmouth District Court, to murder charges. He was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and was held without bond.
"it's a little frightening to see this kind of stuff in our neighborhood, actually, you know, I'd begin to wonder about somebody like this if I knew this was the kind of stuff in their home," said Lee Barto, who has lived on Shoal Creek Trail for 23 years.
The horrific events played out 450 miles away from Loya's house Thursday in Bourne, Mass. Officially, the motive behind what is being described as a well thought out ambush assault remains unknown. But the Boston Globe reported that the victim's relatives say Loya was "obsessed with" and "fixated on" Lisa Trubnikova, with whom he was previously deployed to Alaska.
Chesapeake Police declined all comment on this case.
Meanwhile, officials with the Fifth Coast Guard District command in Portsmouth say they are actively involved in the investigation, and cooperating fully in the probe, and they note how much this incident has impacted its men and women back in Hampton Roads.
"The news of this tragedy comes as a shock to everybody here in the Hampton Roads area, and throughout the Coast Guard," said Littlejohn. "As Coast Guard members, whether stationed here in Hampton Roads, stationed out in Guam, stationed in New England, we're all part of one big Coast Guard family. When you hear about an event like this, it just shakes all of us to the core."
