HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Maui police arrested a 43-year-old man from Kula in connection with improvised explosive devices discovered last month.
The man, identified in charging documents as Jess Kiesel Lee, was charged on Friday with two explosives charges.
His arrest stems from the discovery of multiple IEDs that were found near Kaamana Street in Kula, some had been detonated and some were undetonated.
The IEDs were sent to the FBI lab for analysis, where they were determined to contain "explosive and incendiary material capable of causing destruction by explosive force."
Though the labʻs preliminary analysis determined that the IEDs were capable of creating hazardous, explosive outcomes, they also determined that the IEDs did not appear to have been made as weaponized devices.
One fingerprint was detected on the adhesive side of masking tape on one of the IEDs and it identified Lee.
Through investigation, the FBI was able to determine that the explosive used in the IED was not available in Hawaii and had to have been shipped in from somewhere. They were able to find the online store that Lee purchased the explosive material from and determined that the company was based in the continental U.S.
According to court records, Lee has several prior criminal convictions, including felony convictions for assault and terroristic threatening.
Lee is expected in court on Sept. 23.
"If indicted and convicted of the charged offenses, the defendant would face up to ten years in prison on the felon in possession of explosives charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years in prison, but no more than and up to 20 years in prison, on the property damage charge," the Attorney Generalʻs office said in a news release.
Last month, the FBI reported that multiple IEDs were found in trash bins and other concealed locations along roadways between Kahului and Kula, including one that caused damage to a vehicle.
In a related case, Robert Dumaran was arrested on two federal charges but was later released.