Palmdale Man Sought in Bombing

Federal agents are searching for a Palmdale man whose partner, also from Palmdale, was killed while attempting to plant a bomb in Chicago last week, authorities said Monday.

Paul Patrick Mahn, 24, is wanted in connection with the bombing that killed Donald Benjamin Mares, said John E. D’Angelo, special agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Mahn and Mares had traveled to Chicago with two other men April 13 with the intention of bombing adult bookstores there, D’Angelo said.

“It appears as if it may have been a contract bombing,” D’Angelo said. It was not clear who hired the men, he said.

While driving to one of the stores, a pipe bomb exploded in Mares’ lap, causing fatal injuries, D’Angelo said.

Mahn, who was driving, was injured but was seen running from the scene.

One of the other men, Joe Martinez, 26, of Chatsworth, was later arrested on suspicion of participating in a conspiracy to transport bombs across state lines, D’Angelo said.

The fourth man, Jay Brissette, 32, has agreed to turn himself in to the bureau in Chicago, D’Angelo said.

The bureau is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to Mahn’s arrest and conviction.