Hawaii man charged after police discover homemade bomb near Maui school

A 47-year-old man has been arrested in connection with several improvised explosive devices found on the Hawaiian island of Maui, police said.

Robert Francis Dumaran made his initial court appearance in Hawaii on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii. Dumaran is charged with possession of an unregistered destructive device and attempting to damage property with an explosive, according to an unsealed criminal complaint.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Dumaran’s preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 27. He is being held without bail, the office said.

Authorities said they were confronted with a number of homemade bombs — described by the FBI as IEDs — found in Maui, hidden in trash cans and disguised elsewhere in trash cans. There have been several explosions on the island in the past week attributed to the devices, authorities said.

MORE: FBI, Maui police issue public safety warnings about potential explosive devices

The first IED was discovered July 23 by Maui Police Department officers responding to a call about a suspicious item near Kahului Elementary School. The bomb consisted of explosive powder, a battery and shrapnel. Investigators said they found Dumaran’s fingerprints on the “clear packing tape” used to build it.

The unsealed complaint said “several IEDs” of similar design were detonated along Kaamana Street in Kula, Hawaii, on August 7. Another device exploded on Aug. 8, damaging a passing car, while another was attached to a guardrail before detonating and “caused considerable damage to the guardrail and the neighborhood,” according to the complaint.

The criminal complaint states that the investigation is still ongoing and Dumaran could still face additional charges.

Dumaran has been investigated before, investigators said. The complaint said police searched his home in January 2022 and found custom fireworks, ammunition and other components that could be used to create IEDs. That’s when authorities obtained his fingerprints, the complaint says.

Fingerprints and cell tower data helped police in their investigation, they said. Dumaran’s cell phone was found to be in the area of ​​Kahului Elementary School the day the IED was discovered there, as well as near Kaamana Street several days before the devices were found there, the complaint said.

The open complaint details Dumaran’s text conversations with an unidentified third party. In them, the defendant would say he wanted to set off explosions to “make me feel better.”

Hawaii man charged after police discover homemade bomb near Maui school originally appeared on abcnews.go.com