Deputies Seize Arsenal, Snake in Raid on Abandoned House : Lancaster: Two are arrested with a large cache of weapons at the secluded farmhouse. It may have been used as a drug lab, officials said.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who raided a boarded-up Lancaster farmhouse on a tip from a narcotics informant seized an arsenal of dozens of guns, grenades, an antitank rocket launcher, cans of gunpowder--and a live rattlesnake--authorities said Friday.

Two men were arrested at the farmhouse in a secluded area of the 3500 block of East Avenue J-8, which investigators said may have been used as a drug laboratory, as a small quantity of methamphetamine was also found.

Guns “were all over the place when we went in--some were mounted on the walls,” Sgt. Jim Brent said. “There is always a lot of guns associated with drugs.”

Although the weapons might have been expected, the rattlesnake stopped deputies cold shortly after they entered the house, Brent added.

“That scared the bejesus out of me,” Brent said. “I’m walking in there and I hear that rattler go off.”

Brent said he made a hasty retreat toward the front door, but another deputy saw that the snake was safely held in a cage. It was later seized by animal control officers.

Investigators searched the boarded-up house about 3:30 p.m. Thursday after receiving an informant’s tip that the structure was being used for drug activity, Deputy Mary Landreth said.

Deputies went to the farmhouse earlier but found no one home, Landreth said. They set up surveillance nearby and a short time later Chris Sundahl and Edward Coleman, both 40-year-old Lancaster residents, arrived.

Deputies moved in and Coleman told deputies he lived there and was watching the property for its owner. He gave the deputies permission to search the residence, Landreth said.

Inside the house, deputies found a Dragon antitank rocket launcher but no rockets for the device. Also found were a replica of an M-60 machine gun, two Uzi submachine guns, an AK-47 assault rifle, a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun and 25 high-powered rifles, Landreth said.

Also included in the arsenal were 20 small explosive devices, five live hand grenades, an electronic military-style blasting cap and an inert rifle grenade, deputies said. Deputies found more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition for the weapons and several cans of gunpowder.

A half-ounce of methamphetamine was found in the house, leading deputies to conclude that the house--seemingly abandoned and at least a quarter-mile from the nearest neighbor--might have been used as a clandestine drug lab, Brent said.

Sundahl and Coleman were arrested on suspicion of possession of explosive devices and were being held in lieu of $70,000 bail each at the sheriff’s Antelope Valley station.

The sheriff’s bomb and arson unit was called to remove the weapons and explosives.