PLEASANT HILL — An investigation that began probing a bizarre vandalism spree — later bringing the bomb squad to an apartment building here — has again expanded, now tracking internet searches for pornography involving young girls and babies, according to police.
It all centers on a March search of an apartment on 300 Longbrook Way, where police arrested a 27-year-old resident. During the search, authorities seized materials from what they described in a news release as a homemade bomb lab.
Now, police have confirmed that the investigation involved a series of crashes into garages in central Contra Costa, as well as a Safeway in Clayton. As they honed in on their suspect, police began looking at his internet searches, which led them to potential crimes involving manufacturing explosive devices and looking up child pornography.
The suspect was detained by police on March 2, in connection with an incident that involved the Safeway’s front doors being smashed. He admitted he’d been in several recent crashes and that he used to deliver food for Instacart, but claimed he had no more information due to memory loss issues, police said.
Officers seized his phone, and found he’d been researching how to make TNT and C4, and purchasing ingredients for explosive materials. They also discovered he’d searched for pictures of young girls in swimsuits and nude babies, and that those searches were done alongside visits to adult pornography websites, according to police investigators.
The man was arrested last month, but has not yet been charged pending searches of electronic devices seized during a search of his home. The bomb squad was also called and had to clear the residence before police could start conducting their search, authorities said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com