A man has been arrested after admitting to bombing mailboxes in the cities of Gilbert and Mesa Arizona.
The Mesa police have stated that between March 12th and March 15th, four mailboxes were destroyed in Mesa and one was destroyed in Gilbert by an unknown explosive device.
Officials have confirmed that they were able to gather evidence from the last incident that caused them to assume that the explosives seemed to be a type of consumer firework. After that, a surveillance video was able to capture the suspect's vehicle at three of the events in Mesa.
Throughout the investigation, the officers were able to use police databases to locate a maroon Hyundai Sonota that appeared to be between the years of 2006-2010. The police officers said that one vehicle was tied to a John Janecek, age forty, who was also located in several social media posts both making and setting off consumer fireworks.
After that, the police obtained a search warrant and confirmed that John Janecek was in the area during the first Mesa incident and they were able to do so by using his phone records.
On April 15, John was detained and questioned on the bombings but he denied all involvement. He claimed that he had "materials" he believed he shouldn't have so he had them destroyed.
Throughout his questioning, officers said that John continued to make incriminating statements and often corrected himself. The police obtained a second search warrant for social media content. They confirmed that there was a message sent by John that said, "You sure have been a lot of mailboxes disappearing."
John was formally arrested on May 28th, and as he was arrested he told the police officers that he had apologized to the first business owner and paid him $30 for destroying his mailbox.
After that John confessed to blowing up at least three mailboxes. He has been booked on five counts of first-degree burglary, five counts of disorderly conduct, and possession of dangerous drugs.
Sources:
https://www.abc15.com/news/crime/pd-man-arrested-for-bombing-mailboxes-in-mesa-gilbert