Palmdale Man Sought in Chicago Death Arrested

A Palmdale man who was being sought in connection with a fatal pipe bomb explosion in Chicago has been found hiding in a Santa Clarita Valley canyon and will be returned to Chicago for prosecution, authorities said Wednesday.

Paul P. Mahn, 24, appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday to face a charge of conspiracy to transport explosives across state lines with the knowledge they would be used to intimidate individuals and damage buildings, Assistant U.S. Atty. Nick Hanna said.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge C. Elgin Edwards ordered Mahn held without bail and transferred to Chicago as soon as possible, Hanna said. He said Mahn waived his right to an extradition hearing.

Mahn was arrested by agents for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on Tuesday in Newhall, where he had been camping to elude authorities, a bureau spokesman said. The arrest site was not identified.

Mahn is accused of traveling to Chicago with three other Southern California men to blow up adult bookstores for a fee of $6,000, according to Hanna and an affidavit filed in Chicago federal court.

One of the bombs exploded as Mahn was driving through the city with one of his partners, 28-year-old Donald B. Mares of Palmdale. Mares was killed in the blast and Mahn was seen fleeing the scene.

A third man charged in the case, Joseph A. Martinez, 26, of Chatsworth was in custody in Chicago. A fourth, Jay Brissette, 32, of Palmdale was expected to turn himself in in Chicago, but his status could not be confirmed Wednesday.

Hanna and Matthew Bettenhausen, an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, declined to discuss who they believe hired the four men. The four were initially thought to be members of a motorcycle gang called the Vegos, but investigators have since learned they are not affiliated with the group, although they are dirt bikers, Bettenhausen said.

Bettenhausen and Hanna declined to discuss a possible motive for the plan to bomb adult bookstores. An article in the Chicago Tribune, citing unnamed sources, said probable orchestrators behind the alleged plan include West Coast pornography distributors looking for new territory and organized crime figures trying to extort money.