A 24-year-old man accused of setting off explosives in the desert last week might have been constructing improvised explosive devices at a Pima County wastewater treatment plant where he worked, authorities said.
Todd Douglas Mailloux was booked into the Pima County jail Oct. 9 after sheriff's deputies found him setting off "bird bombs" in the desert a couple of days earlier near the 4200 block of South Calico Lane, near San Joaquin and Bopp roads, according to search warrant documents filed in court.
Bird bombs are used to scare birds away from agricultural fields.
Mailloux is facing charges of possession of prohibited weapons with intention to sell, depositing explosives, and arson of an occupied structure, authorities said.
The court documents state Mailloux placed 50 bird bombs in a microwave and set off the bombs in a wash, which caused significant sound and blast pressure with sparks seen flying in different directions.
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The explosion left a crater that was 6 feet wide and 2 1/2 feet deep.
Mailloux punched a hole in the plastic end of a bird bomb to insert an ignitable fuse, the documents state.
Sheriff's deputies found numerous twisted sheet-metal fragments and black plastic pieces in the desert area on the Southwest Side, the records say.
The search warrant says Mailloux told authorities he had extensive knowledge of bomb making and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms regulations regarding explosive materials.
He also told authorities he posted videos on YouTube of him detonating devices at the treatment plant and other sites, the documents say.
Bomb squad investigators think Mailloux may have been constructing the devices at the plant, 2600 W. Sweetwater Drive, and at two places he lives in the 4200 block of South Calico Lane and the 1700 block of West Falcon Way in Amado, the records say.
A search warrant says investigators found ammunition magazines and an ammunition can in his white Toyota Tacoma pickup.
Another search warrant says authorities found a 50-pound bag of ammonium nitrate, a digital camera, CDs and other evidence of explosives at one of his homes and in his locker at the treatment plant.
The documents do not describe his job at the plant.
A background check by deputies found that Mailloux considered himself a loner, made idle threats against a Pima Community College employee and showed diagrams of bomb-making activities, as well as photographs of vehicles he destroyed with bombs, the court documents state.
