BEAUMONT — Federal agents and Beaumont Police officers arrested the man they say set off a bomb at a Beaumont church and left a device at a Beaumont Starbucks in the past month.
Jonathan Matthew Torres, 40, of Beaumont was arrested without incident at his north end Beaumont home.
Here's what we know about him and the bombs.
The Suspect: Jonathan Torres
Jonathan Matthew Torres, 40, of Beaumont, graduated from Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School in 1996.
Arrested on Thursday evening, May 24, 2018, at his residence in connection with two Beaumont bombing incidents.
The U.S. District Court charged Torres with the use of an explosive to damage property, mailing a threatening communication and possession of an unregistered destructive device according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
READ MORE | Press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office
RELATED | Beaumont bomb suspect sent note to police saying 'DO YOU WANT BMT TO BECOME ANOTHER AUSTIN?'
RELATED | Beaumont Police, FBI, ATF agents conduct 'operation' at north end Beaumont home Thursday night
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He will appear in federal court on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 on the bomb charges.
If convicted, Torres faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison.
In January 2016, Torres pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in "penalty group one" of less than a gram, a state jail felony, for which he received two years on probation, according to a background check.
He was initially arrested by Beaumont Police on the charge in March 2015.
U.S. Attorney Joe Brown said in a Friday news conference that Torres had served in the U.S. military, although he did not say when or what branch.
People who say they know Torres told 12News he spent 10 years in the Army and the Marines. 12News is working to verify his service record.
They also told 12News he may have attended Lamar University and may have worked at a north Beaumont convenience store.
Neighbors described him Friday as generally a good guy.
Found in Torres' residence - May 24, 2018:
Investigators executed a search warrant of Jonathan Torres' home on the 4400 block of El Paso.
Investigators found multiple containers, one of which was empty, of the same type of explosive material used in both the St Stephen's Church and Starbucks devices.
They also found U.S. Postal service boxes similar to ones used in both devices, a receipt for the purchase of the same type of string, similar zip-ties and packing tape similar to what was used in the device at Starbuck's as well as other components similar to both devices a news release said.
The Starbucks device - Thursday, April 26, 2018:
A "homemade destructive device" inside a U.S. Postal Service priority mail box was found at the Starbucks on Dowlen Road in Beaumont on April 26, 2018.
A note made with peel and stick letters on a note card found with the device at Starbucks read "HAJI DIE USA --JH" according to the criminal complaint.
"Haji" is often used as a derogatory term for someone of Arabic descent and, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is a term for a Muslim who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The package containing the device was originally found by customers and Starbucks employees early in the morning on April 24, 2018, but was not opened until April 26, the complaint said.
The device contained explosive material and a mousetrap that was intended to be the triggering device by having the hammer of the mousetrap close when the box was opened, according to the complaint.
The device did not explode, however, police said at the time that had it detonated as intended, it could have caused injuries.
The bomb at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church - Thursday, May 10, 2018
A package bomb detonated at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church on Delaware Street in Beaumont on May 10, 2018, causing some damage to a church office.
The bomb at St Stephen's damaged the church's office building, but no one was injured.
According to the probable cause affidavit, components of this device were similar to those of the device discovered at Starbucks.
On April 24, 2018, Torres also purchased #10 screws at the Home Depot in Beaumont which are consistent with screws in the St. Stephen's bomb, according to the criminal complaint.
Communications to Beaumont Police:
Beaumont Police received a suspicious note on April 27, 2018, one day after a device was discovered at a Beaumont Starbucks, that read, "DO YOU WANT BMT TO BECOME ANOTHER AUSTIN?" according to the criminal complaint against Torres.
The note was singed "J HANCOCK."
Beaumont Police received three postcards on May 11, 14 and 17, 2018, that appeared to be from the sender of the first note on April 27, 2018.
The May 11 postcard, with DC Comics' "V for Vendetta"art work, was received tha day after the St. Stephen's bomb and read, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME? JH,'" the complaint said.
The May 14, 2018 postcard, bearing an image of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, read, "There were two others Did you not get them? JH."
The May 17, 2018, postcard was written in green ink and had an image of DC Comic's "The Atom." The writer had inscribed a direct quote from a Beaumont Police news release from the day after the St. Stephen's bomb reading, "'None of these have been deemed a credible threat.' JH."
"The Atom" postcard from May 17 came from the same line of DC Comics postcards as the May 11 postcard featuring "V for Vendetta," the complaint said.
Investigators also discovered other postcards known to have been mailed by Torres that all contained cartoons. Four of them used the same type of stamp as the May 14 postcard sent to police.
Torres also drew lines on several known postcards to write the recipient's addresses, which matched up with two of the cards sent to police, the complaint said.
Several postcards mailed by Torres also used multiple colors of ink, as did the cards sent to police.
If you have any information related to these events, please call Beaumont Crime Stoppers at 409-833-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-CALL-FBI.