LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. (KGET) — A Lake Isabella man is being held in jail Monday night and is scheduled for court Tuesday after a search of his home allegedly revealed drugs, bomb-making materials, dozens of guns and human bones.
The discovery sent chills down the spines of a neighbor who know the suspect.
“They’ve always been really sweet people,” said Heather Walrath, who has lived down the street for years. She’s close with the suspect’s mother, one of the residents in the home.
“She reminds me a lot of my mom, she’s super nice, very helpful,” Walrath continued. “In fact, when our well went down, we worked together quite a bit to make sure we had everything we needed.”
Walrath then details when she found out sheriff’s deputies, crime scene investigation units and even the bomb squad were at her neighbor’s home.
“I was at work and my daughter messages me, ‘Mom what’s going on at Sam’s house?’”, said Walrath. “Then when I got back, we were watching and I saw what I thought was a CSI truck and I thought ‘Oh, that’s not good.’”
The man arrested is 52-year-old Michael Deatherage.
Deatherage has a criminal record that goes back at least 17 years including two convictions of possession of a firearm by a felon, one conviction of spousal abuse, three convictions of possession of drugs, with more of the same charges pending a hearing in February.
Most recently, on July 1, 2024, a charge of manufacturing, selling or possessing a short-barreled rifle; a firearm which simply owning in California is generally a felony.
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Now, human bones, bomb-making materials, dozens of guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition found inside his home, adding to the list.
“It shocks the bejesus out of me actually,” said Walrath. “He comes down, he helps us when we have issues with the well, and if we’re having problems with our water he comes down and talks to us. Any human remains at somebody’s house is something to be concerned about.”
Walrath said she’s maintained contact with the suspect’s mother and notes that she’s ok, but hasn’t asked for more information. What she does know now, is a sense of uneasiness after discovering the truth of the horror next door.
“Really, really helpful people,” said Walrath. “You never would’ve thought something like this could happen.”
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