Police Arrest Veteran, Allegedly With Explosive Materials, at Southern California Motel

Chino police say the Arizona man specialized in ammunition and explosives during his time in the military.

The Chino Police Department on Guardian Way in April 2022. Screenshot via Google Maps

Police in Southern California arrested a retired Navy veteran this week after he was allegedly found with an unregistered firearm and bomb-making materials, officials announced April 30.

Officers in Chino, a San Bernardino County town about 35 miles east of Los Angeles, on Monday arrested Luis Jorge Moreno, 46, of Arizona after noticing “firearm components in plain view” inside his vehicle, which was parked at a Motel 6 on Central Avenue. Officers found him in a nearby room with an unregistered gun, a statement posted on Facebook said.

A search of his car turned up “chemicals and supplies consistent with precursors of an explosive device,” several airsoft guns, a ballistic vest, and two gas masks, police added.

Police identified Moreno as the registered owner of the vehicle.

Moreno has specialized experience in ammunition and explosive ordnance, according to the Chino Police Department.

Officers called in the Ontario Fire Department Bomb Squad and the FBI to help with the investigation.

“The bomb squad secured the scene and took custody of the chemicals,” police reported.

Police say Moreno had enough chemicals and supplies to possibly make a bomb.

Chino police detectives also served a search warrant on Moreno’s motel room, where they found narcotics, more explosive materials, and a written formula for making smoke bombs, the statement said.

Moreno was arrested Monday on suspicion of possessing materials with the intent to make a destructive device. He was booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where he remained Thursday.

A single turboprop aircraft awaits flight at Chino Airport in Chino, Calif., on Jan. 26, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The explosives charge did not require Moreno to post a cash bond. However, he also had a warrant out of neighboring Orange County for driving while intoxicated. For that charge, his bail was set at $25,000, according to San Bernardino County inmate records.

Moreno was scheduled to appear in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court on both charges May 5.

The investigation into Moreno’s alleged activities and intentions is ongoing, Chino police reported. Police encouraged the public to contact them with any additional information about the case.

The San Bernardino County district attorney did not immediately return a request for information about Moreno’s charges Thursday. His attorney was also not identified by officials.