SAN JOSE — A man has been charged with bomb-making crimes after he reportedly called in a threat to a North San Jose office park, where police found the makings of an explosive device, authorities said.
Felix Arnaz, 56, of San Jose, was arrested the evening of July 3 across the city from the site of the bomb scare, hours after San Jose police were called to Ridder Park Drive and Fox Drive, just north of East Brokaw Road.
It was there that the San Jose Police Department’s bomb squad and SWAT team responded to Arnaz’s claim that he planted an improvised explosive device behind a business, police said. The officers did find an object resembling an IED, and “determined the item to be an incomplete but viable IED.”
Police swept the area for other possible explosives but reported not finding any.
An ensuing investigation identified Arnaz as a suspect; police say they tracked him to a vehicle in a parking lot near Aborn Road and Ruby Avenue in the city’s Evergreen neighborhood.
Police took Arnaz into custody, and then evacuated nearby businesses while they searched his car for more explosives. They again did not find any.Jail records indicate Arnaz was booked July 4 into the Elmwood men’s jail in Milpitas and was initially held without bail. A criminal complaint filed the next day by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office charged him with four felonies, three of them related to possessing a destructive device and related materials, and one allegation that he was driving another person’s pickup truck without permission.
Arnaz was originally scheduled for arraignment Friday, but he refused to be transported to court. He similarly refused to appear at rescheduled arraignment hearings Monday and Tuesday. He also has pending court dates for drug-related offenses later in the month.
Anyone with information for investigators about the bomb threat can contact the SJPD assaults unit at 408-277-4161 or email Detective Madera at 4857@sanjoseca.gov. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.
