Pasadena police arrest a man suspected of setting off more than 150 fireworks and other explosions over a two-year period

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) — Pasadena police announced Monday the arrest of a 63-year-old man suspected of setting off more than 150 unknown explosions over a period of nearly two years.

Art Leon Berian was arrested and arraigned last Thursday and now faces three felony counts of possession of explosives with intent to injure or intimidate, according to police. Bail was set at $1.5 million.

“I actually heard the bombs myself. I live just down the street. We had neighbors who were scared,” Pasadena City Councilwoman Felicia Williams said. “They woke up in the middle of the night. We didn’t know if it was a fire or an explosion.”

Most of the explosions occurred in the middle of the night in the area around Allen Avenue and Washington Boulevard. According to police, 14 cases occurred in the last two weeks.

Most incidents went unreported, but Pasadena’s fire investigator began tracking explosions captured on the city’s ShotSpotter system. This allowed the police to concentrate on specific streets.

Video posted on Nextdoor shows two suspicious vehicles registered to Berian. Investigators received video of a related explosion around 11:30 a.m. Thursday in connection with their investigation.

While collecting evidence, investigators heard a loud explosion in the area and observed a car driving through a cloud of white smoke nearby. They stopped the 2013 BMW and arrested Berian.

Berian was taken into custody and evidence related to the explosion was recovered from his car, police said.

No injuries were reported in connection with the explosions.

Anyone with information is asked to call Pasadena police at (626)744-4241. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

City News Service contributed to this report.