Officers from the Bangor Police Department’s bomb squad responded to an alleged bomb threat made on Sunday against a local nonprofit after a burglar was discovered inside the building.
Officers arrived at 120 Venture Way at around 11:00 a.m. after reports of a burglary at a building of the Penquis CAP nonprofit.
Police arrived to discover James E. McAllian, 48, of Bangor, inside the closed building. When officers announced themselves, McAllian allegedly told them that he had a pipe bomb and threatened to detonate it.
Officers convinced McAllian to exit the building through the window he had entered and searched him, though they found no explosives on his person.
McAllian allegedly told officers the specific location where he planted the bomb, and an officer entered the building and found a device matching the description McAllian provided at the location he indicated.
Officers evacuated the building, and the Bangor Police Bomb Squad responded to examine the device.
They determined that, while the device closely resembled a pipe bomb, it was inert.
McAllian was arrested and transported to the Penobscot County Jail, where he faces charges of burglary and criminal threatening.
Penquis is a non-profit organization that provides a variety of services to low-income individuals, including transportation to medical appointments and housing, among other things.
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In recent weeks, Maine has faced an apparent uptick in bomb threat-related incidents, including both hoaxes and credible threats.
Penquis CAP accused the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of violating state procurement procedures earlier this year when it awarded a contract for MaineCare transportation to an out-of-state for-profit company rather than to the local nonprofit.
