LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Police have arrested a Lakeport man in connection to a suspicious device found at a city church on Sunday.

The Lakeport Police Department said Kayden Daniel Collins, 27, was arrested on Sunday afternoon.

Investigators developed information that led them to conclude Collins was involved in placing the device on the grounds of St. John’s Episcopal Church at 1190 N. Forbes St.

Lakeport Police previously arrested Collins on June 7 at his home at 1201 N. Forbes St. — just across the street from the church — as the result of an investigation into passing counterfeit US currency at county businesses.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen told Lake County News that the device found Sunday was rendered safe by the Napa County’s Sheriff’s bomb squad and it was able to be preserved for the ongoing investigation.

Rasmussen said the object was found on the Forbes Street edge of the church grounds, on the sidewalk.

“Church was just getting out when it was located,” Rasmussen said.

The Rev. Ed Howell, dean of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California’s Russian River Deanery, which includes St. John’s in Lakeport, told Lake County News that he had been able to speak to two church members on Sunday after the device was discovered, including the man who found it.

He said after discovering it, church members left the grounds — some of them leaving their cars — in order to clear the area. Howell said they indicated they were fine after the day’s events.

The device’s discovery led to police calling for evacuation of an area around the church, including road closures, that was in effect for more than three and a half-hours on Sunday afternoon.

Authorities issued an alert on the device’s discovery shortly after noon on Sunday. Just before 3:45 p.m. police reported that the device was rendered safe by the Napa County Sheriff’s bomb squad, the evacuation order was lifted and the impacted roads were reopened.

Rasmussen said the bomb squad X-rayed and examined the device, then a bomb technician was able to render it safe without moving it from the church grounds.

“We did confirm that it did have a power source, shrapnel and accelerants in it,” Rasmussen said.

However, he added, “I can’t stay for certain at this point whether or not it would have exploded.”

After it was disabled, the bomb squad turned the device over to Lakeport Police for an evidence examination. “It’ll be examined by the crime lab,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said the investigation is ongoing, with police continuing to follow up on leads.

Collins was booked into the Lake County Jail on a misdemeanor count of obstructing or resisting a peace officer and a felony count of possession of a destructive device, with bail set at $10,000. He remained in custody early Monday.

Booking records show he is scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court on Tuesday.

So far, Rasmussen said there are no ideas about the motivation for placing the device at the church.

However, he said there are no indications that it’s in any way a result of the Friday action by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade.

“Today I have no knowledge that this has any connection to that,” he said.

Rasmussen said he was in contact on Friday with Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White and Sheriff Brian Martin as they were aware that the Department of Homeland Security had issued an alert to law enforcement and first responders that day warning of the potential for violence in the wake of the ruling.

“We had no information that there was any concern locally,” said Rasmussen, explaining that he, Martin and White had a plan to reach out to the Roman Catholic Churches if necessary.

They also were in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday and he spoke to the FBI’s resident agency supervisor on Sunday as he was working the case involving the suspicious device.

Howell also told Lake County News that St. John’s had not received any threats.

In addition to Lakeport Police and the Napa County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad, assisting agencies in the response to the Sunday incident included Lakeport Public Works, Lakeport Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District Response Support Team, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Lake County Office of Emergency Services.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.