Man seeking to make himself 'feel better' left improvised bombs near elementary schools and on highways, feds say

Background: Kahului Elementary School in Maui (Google Maps). Inset, clockwise from left: Robert Francis Dumaran (Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center); an improvised explosive device located near Kahului Elementary School in July 2024 (FBI); damage done to a vehicle’s side door after a device exploded on a highway in Maui in August 2024 (FBI).

A man in Hawaii has been charged after police in Maui say they connected him to a series of improvised explosive devices found on the island and allegedly located his fingerprints on packing tape used to build an improvised bomb that was left near an elementary school.

Robert Francis Dumaran, 47, was indicted on Aug. 10, according to a criminal complaint initially entered under seal in Hawaii. The complaint and accompanying affidavit were placed under seal on Aug. 10 and a motion to unseal it was signed by a magistrate judge on Tuesday when Dumaran made his first appearance. He appears in court next on Aug. 27.

It is unclear if Dumaran has retained an attorney as of Wednesday. He was detained at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu.

According to the Honolulu Civil Beat , an investigation into improvised explosive devices found scattered around the area began on July 23 when a device was located near the Kahului Elementary School. The homemade device contained explosive powder, batteries and shrapnel. It was held together with packing tape and slightly resembled a small basket.

Near-identical devices were found next on Aug. 7 in Kula. The Honolulu outlet reported that these devices were made out of a pipe and were attached to a guardrail along a busy road. Some of the devices had been detonated and the guardrail was clearly damaged.

On Aug. 8, police said a device was found near a trash can on Old Haleakala Highway in Maui. This one also exploded and this time, the debris struck a passing Kia Sportage. That vehicle was damaged but no one was hurt.

In an interview with the Honolulu Civil Beat, resident Daniel Perry said he saw a flash in the sky coming from the direction of the explosion on Aug. 8.

“It’s scary actually to tell you the truth. It’s devastating if somebody was to actually die from that … I don’t want Maui to burn anymore,” he said.

Thousands of homes were burned in Maui in August 2023 and over 100 people were killed after fire gripped the historic downtown area of Lahaina, Law&Crime reported last year.

Police reportedly executed a search warrant on Dumaran’s home two years ago and found fireworks, ammunition and other materials well-suited for homemade bombs. That’s also when police first got his fingerprints, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.

In July, as the FBI investigated the explosive device found at the elementary school, the outlet reported that FBI agents were able to lift fingerprints from packaging tape used on the bomb and match it to Dumaran. His cellphone was also allegedly picked up pinging off towers near the elementary school. His phone pinged again near a site where police found a number of other explosive devices in early August.

A review of text messages retrieved off his phone by police allegedly showed Dumaran telling someone “Think I gotta go set off sum explosions … make me feel better.”

The recipient of that text was not identified.

Dumaran is charged with possessing an unregistered destructive device and attempting to damage property by means of explosives.

In a statement announcing Dumaran’s arrest, the Justice Department said that if convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison on the unregistered destructive device charge and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and up to 20 years on the explosives charge

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