By Alana Bleimann
SACRAMENTO – Defendant David Wolpert—arrested for felony possession or manufacture of a weapon of mass destruction in his Sacramento apartment in April of 2019—was in Sacramento County Superior Court for his preliminary hearing Wednesday.
While Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Sanders said Wolpert had a bomb, Assistant Public Defender Dena Stone said virtually every household has the same ingredients.
Defendant Wolpert’s case has been ongoing since April of 2019—his court proceedings were delayed for nearly six months because of COVID-19 restrictions. He has no previous record.
Upset with the FBI for not protecting his safety, although it was unclear what the FBI was supposed to be protecting him from, 35-year old Wolpert allegedly bought five bottles of ammonia and four bottles of bleach from a local store.
Wolpert returned to his Tahoe Park Apartment complex, planning to mix the two chemicals in a large five-gallon bucket.
Although the defendant was not planning on using this mixture to harm anyone, Assistant PD Stone claimed, the consequences of the mixture of these two chemicals was of knowledge to the 
defendant, witness Officer Karl Chan noted.
Chan also testified that the mixture of ammonia and bleach makes chlorine gas, a substance that can be considered a “weapon of mass destruction” and is a precursor to a deadly explosion when combined correctly.
With this potential weapon in the hands of the defendant, the defendant’s mother contacted the authorities.
According to witness Chan, Wolpert’s mother had knowledge of her son’s possession and knew he was “going to build weapons” with them.
The authorities showed up at the Tahoe Apartments to complete a routine welfare check, and arrested Wolpert as well as conducting an evacuation of nearby residents.
Wolpert was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail with bail set at $1 million.
Ms. Stone closed her argument in which she challenged prosecutor Alexandra Sanders, arguing the case was overcharged—that it was really just an attempted manufacturing of a controlled substance, not possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
Stone also maintained Wolpert would have been unable to construct the actual weapon because he had no way to deploy the agent.
“Anyone who has ammonia and bleach in their house could be charged with making weapons of mass destruction,” Stone said in her closing argument.
Judge Ernest W. Sawtelle was not convinced of the defense and found the defendant likely guilty, and bound him over for trial Nov. 2.
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