A Maui man faces serious charges after allegedly possessing and using explosives, the U.S. Attorney's office announced yesterday.
According to a statement on the U.S Attorney's Office from United States Attorney Clare E. Connors, 43-year-old Jess Kiesel Lee of Kula, Maui was arrested under suspicion for having explosives while being a convicted felon and for causing property damage with explosives, the criminal complaint cites an encounter on August 7, where Maui Police Department officers found several improvised explosive devices near Kaamana Street in Kula, and they reported one had already been detonated upon their arrival, leading to the subsequent discovery of materials that matched those typically used in explosive powder.
Should Lee be indicted and then found guilty of these offenses, he's looking at up to a decade behind bars for the explosives possession charge, and a minimum of five years — potentially up to 20 years — for the property damage offense, these charges are currently just accusations, Lee remains innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law as stated by the legal presumption of innocence principle.
The announcements did clarify, however, that Lee isn't being charged for an unrelated IED incident on Lono Avenue in Kahului on July 23, or a car explosion in Pukalani on August 8, for which another individual has been implicated and charged since August 13, the two assistant U.S. Attorneys, Jonathan D. Slack and Wayne A. Myers are handling prosecution while the FBI in collaboration with the MPD continue their investigation into these unsettling events.
