Transient, Youth Arrested as Smoke-Bombing Suspects : Attacks: It is not known whether they were involved in incidents in Orange County, but police officers are continuing their investigations.

A transient and a youth were arrested in Bell Gardens in connection with a string of Southland smoke bomb attacks, but authorities Friday said it is too early to link the pair to similar incidents in Orange County.

Police on Thursday arrested Larry Wayne Mitchell, 27, and a 17-year-old youth at the latter’s home.

They were arrested on suspicion of setting off a foul-smelling bomb during a pastor’s sermon at a Torrance church last month. But Torrance Police Sgt. Ronald Traber said initial evidence suggests that the two could also be linked to the other smoke bombings, including Wednesday’s incident at the Los Angeles Times offices in Los Angeles, which prompted the evacuation of 1,000 employees.

However, authorities in Orange County said conflicting descriptions of the suspect in the Orange County incidents need to be resolved before the pair could be considered suspects. Smoke bombs have been planted recently at Crystal Cathedral and a Christian bookstore in Garden Grove, the Trinity Broadcasting Network studios in Tustin and the lobby of the Orange County Register in Santa Ana.

“At this point we feel the incident at the (Orange County) Register April 2 is not related to the Torrance arrests,” said Santa Ana police spokeswoman Maureen Haacker.

Garden Grove police also said their investigations will continue.

The smoke bomb placed in the auditorium of the Crystal Cathedral forced the evacuation of 1,200 people attending a Good Friday service March 29.

“We have not made the connection from the Torrance arrests to the incident that occurred here,” said Police Lt. John Woods.

Tustin police said they are awaiting photographic and other evidence from Torrance authorities to use in reviewing a tape of a religious program made at the Trinity Network studios March 28. A smoke bomb spewed noxious fumes in the middle of an audience during the live broadcast, causing minor injuries to 15 people.

Police detectives investigating the incident at The Times could not be reached for comment.

Searches of Mitchell’s car and the youth’s home, where he lived with his grandmother, uncovered “materials that are consistent with some of the materials used in the bombs,” said Torrance Police Sgt. Ronald Traber.

No one was injured seriously in any of the incidents, all of which involved a package or other container leaking acid, smoke or fumes after being left in a building.

In Wednesday’s incident, a Los Angeles Police Department squad detonated a device wrapped in a brightly colored gift bag and left on a bench in The Times’ lobby on Spring Street near 2nd Street. Police closed off a block of Spring Street for nearly two hours, but later found that the package was not capable of doing serious damage.

Times security officials said they received a call from someone claiming to have left the package, which included a copy of a Register story about the attack at that newspaper. In the Register incident, a man claiming to be the Antichrist left the bomb with a letter threatening several prominent religious leaders.

Crystal Cathedral spokesman Michael Nason said Friday he was disappointed to hear that whoever attacked his church may still be at large. But he said he harbors no animosity toward the culprit.

“It looks like he was trying to get attention and selecting targets that would get him that attention,” Nason said. “I think it is an unfortunate cry for help.”

Others in the religious community speculated on what might be driving the bomber.

“This is a great example of toxic faith,” said Stephen Arterburn, founder of the New Life Treatment Center, a Laguna Beach-based organization that provides Christian psychiatric treatment. “Whatever disappointment or abuse that has occurred in that person’s life is attributed to God. . . . I think this is someone who has been involved fairly deeply in church activities, not someone who doesn’t know something about Christianity.”

Friday afternoon, the youth was released from custody.

Mitchell was being held in Torrance City Jail on $25,000 bail and an additional $9,200 in outstanding warrants, Traber said. Neither suspect has been charged.

Times staff writer Deborah Schoch contributed to this report from Los Angeles.