Man: Backfire, not gunfire, is what Miss. soldiers heard
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — A man that police pulled over Wednesday on suspicion of firing at Camp Shelby soldiers remains in jail Thursday after investigators found guns at his mobile home.
Alfred Baria Sr., 61, of Wiggins, Miss., told police that he is able to make his truck backfire on command and apparently did so Wednesday as officers searched for the driver of a maroon pickup accused of firing on soldiers two days in a row as two manned a traffic checkpoint to let the public know about a training exercise off base. After Baria was stopped, officers found no gun but did see what appeared to be a pipe bomb in the back.
"He more than made it. He painted it," said Jason Denham, resident agent in charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Biloxi. "He wanted it to look like" a pipe bomb.
But once the 6- to 7-inch piece of plastic pipe, painted olive drab green with end caps attached, was X-rayed, it was found to be fake.
After four Marines and a sailor were killed last month in Chattanooga, Tenn., tensions are high about domestic attacks on U.S. military.
Baria, who has prior narcotics convictions, eventually was charged with four counts of disturbing the peace of a person and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm after authorities obtained a warrant, searched his mobile home and discovered the guns.
Whether Baria actually fired shots is still under investigation. No shell casings have been found in the area, and he has not been charged in connection with those incidents.
Col. Greg Michel said no shots have been confirmed, but soldiers manning the traffic-control points believed what they heard were gunshots.
Alfred Baria Jr., who lives with his father, said his dad's pickup explodes every time someone shifts gears and steps on the gas.
"It actually sounds like it hits you it's so loud," the son said.
Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith said he couldn't verify whether the truck backfires.
"I have not tested the vehicle, so I'm not willing to say one way or the other on that part of it," he said. The sheriff said Baria admitted driving the truck in the places and times where the noises were heard but hasn't admitted firing any shots.
And those pipes? Two big, long ones were for plumbing a newly built auto repair shop in the backyard, Alfred Baria Jr. said. Small pipe containers painted green with caps were for storing auto parts and hardware, he said, showing a reporter one on a shelf inside the shop.
Alfred Baria Jr. said he owned the rifle and pistol that netted felony charges for his father, not realizing that his dad couldn't be anywhere on the property with them.
The son thinks that law enforcement officers were overreacting in charging his father.
"I feel like they were just embarrassed," Alfred Baria Jr. said.
Contributing: The Associated Press