The Maui News

WAILUKU–According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Robert Francis Dumaran, age 47, of Kahului, Maui, made his initial appearance in United States District Court today before United States Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield, following his arrest Saturday at 6:32 p.m. in Maui pursuant to a criminal complaint for possessing an unregistered destructive device and attempting to damage property by means of explosives.

A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 27. Dumaran was detained without bail. The complaint and affidavit allege that on July 23, 2024, Maui Police Department (“MPD”) officers encountered an improvised explosive device (“IED”) near Lono Avenue in Kahului. The IED was in the roadway by Kahului Elementary School.

The IED contained explosive powder, a battery, and shrapnel. Dumaran’s fingerprints were recovered from packing tape used to build the IED.

If indicted and convicted of the charged offenses, the defendant would face up to ten years in prison on the unregistered destructive device charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and up to 20 years on the explosives charge.

The charges and information contained in the federal complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless indicted and proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The affidavit also mentions the recovery of detonated IEDs near Kaamana Street in Kula on Aug. 7, and the explosion of an IED and resulting damage to a car in Pukalani on Aug. 8.

The complaint does not charge Dumaran in connection with either of these events. The FBI and Maui County Police Department conducted the investigation resulting in the complaint and arrest, and the investigation into these matters remains ongoing. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wayne Myers and Jonathan Slack, according to the DOJ.

Jess Weatherholt was a witness to the Pukalani IED incident that occurred on Aug. 8.

“I was outside watering my garden, waiting to pick up my daughter from work and saw a bright flash high up in the sky and thought it was lightning, but then heard the loudest explosion boom afterwards,” Weatherholt told The Maui News. “It was the loudest sound I’ve ever heard in my life. It sounded dangerous so I ran inside to get my boyfriend and we got in the car to get my daughter and at the end of our road was a white SUV stopped in the middle. We got out and saw a lady shaking and crying hysterically in the back seat of her car and I ran up to her to make sure she was ok. The police and ambulance were not on the scene yet. After I made sure she wasn’t bleeding or hurt, we asked the other neighbors that were there what happened and they said her car got hit with an explosion.”

That’s when Weatherholt went to the other side of the car and saw it was completely wrecked.

“The driver’s side window was shattered, the frame was bent, and that whole side of her car had a bunch of holes in it. We were then shown the black pipe that was near her car and heard them describing it as a pipe bomb,” Weatherholt said. “A police officer showed up and told everyone not to touch it and then the fire department and more police showed up. I made sure the lady got in contact with her brother and that she had help coming for her before we had to leave. The scariest part is that my daughter was running late at work and that if I had left any earlier to get her, that could have been my car involved in the explosion.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation told The Maui News via email Monday, “The FBI does not provide updates on active investigations. This would include describing investigative steps we may or may not have taken, interviews we may or may not have conducted, and information we may or may not have learned. To preserve the integrity and capabilities of the investigation, at this time, we cannot share details of the ongoing process. As in any given matter, if charges are filed, they will eventually become a matter of public record.”

According to the MPD booking log, Dumaran was arrested at 6:32 p.m. on Aug. 10 by an officer from the MPD. No bail has been set as Dumaran is being held on a federal warrant in Oahu on the IED charge relating to the July 23 incident in Kahului.

According to Maui County Deputy Prosecutor Ronson Ibarra, Dumaran was out on a $100,000 bail bond posted in a 2019 case in Wailuku Second Circuit Court for three felony charges. Dumaran was charged with felony charges of attempted promoting a dangerous drug in the first degree, felony possession of one-eighth ounce or more of methamphetamine, felony ownership or possession prohibited by felon. Dumaran is due in the Wailuku Second Circuit court on Aug. 15 for a hearing on Dumaran’s motion to compel, suppress evidence, and dismiss. His attorney in the 2019 case is Brandon Segal of Segal Law located in Wailuku.

Segal is also representing Dumaran in a 2020 case where he was charged with six felony charges and eight misdemeanors in November of 2020. According to court documents, Dumaran plead not guilty to all 14 counts in December of 2020 and was released on a reduced bail of $100,000 for those charges in February of 2022. The charges for the 2020 case include felony promoting a dangerous drug in the first degree, three counts of prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia, felony promoting a dangerous drug in the first degree, prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia, felony attempted promoting a dangerous drug in the first degree, felony promoting a drug in the second degree, ownership or possession prohibited (by felon), possession of prohibited pistol magazine, felony attempted promoting a detrimental drug in the second degree, felony promoting a a detrimental drug in the second degree, felony promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree, prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia, promoting a harmful drug in the fourth degree.

Dumaran is due in Second Circuit Court for the charges in the 2020 case for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 26.