Cousins Facing Felony Charges for Bombing

Prosecutors filed felony charges Tuesday against two 17-year-old cousins who allegedly made a bomb that blew up a pay phone at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa on Monday, authorities said.

Both teens were being held at Juvenile Hall and were expected to appear today in Juvenile Court for arraignment, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Ron Smith.

One of the boys, a senior at Estancia, was charged with possession of a destructive device, use of the device and possession of materials to make a bomb, Smith said. The youth also was charged with possession of morphine and a medication for which he had no prescription, police said.

The other youth, a Newport Harbor High School senior, was charged with three felony counts in connection with the bomb, authorities said. Police would not reveal the boys’ names because they are juveniles.

Officers arrested the teens early Monday as they were driving away from the school’s parking lot. Neighbors had called police to report what sounded like gunshots. The noise was the bomb going off at a pay phone near the school’s tennis court, authorities said.

There were no injuries. School officials canceled classes Monday as a precaution while police investigated. The campus reopened Tuesday.

Inside the trunk of the Estancia senior’s car, officers found batteries and enough chemicals to construct three similar bombs, as well as components for a more powerful explosive device, bolt cutters and other tools, investigators said.

Police also found bomb-making materials at the home of the Newport Harbor student.

The boys were apparently trying to get at the coins inside the phone when they set the bomb, police said.

“We think that’s the motive,” Smith said. “We believe they may have been using a crowbar to get into the device, and when that didn’t work they decided to blow it up.”

The coin box, containing about $50 in change, remained intact.

Authorities said the two teenagers, who will be tried as juveniles, could face up to four years at the California Youth Authority if convicted.