WINDHAM – The three teenagers who threw homemade bombs from their car windows during a joyride through Windham are facing felony charges.

The trio scared residents in the South Windham area Tuesday afternoon and even prompted the second-ever use of the town’s reverse-911 system, which notifies residents in case of an emergency.

In all, police say the teens successfully blew up two mailboxes and detonated several other bombs in driveways or along roadways in South Windham, including Highland Cliff Road, River Road, and Webb Road. In total, 11 bombs were found either exploded or still in tact Tuesday afternoon, and an additional two Tuesday night, police said.

The three teens, including Travis Carignan, 18, of Westbrook and two 16-year-old male juveniles from Windham, are facing at least six counts each of class C charges for the criminal use of explosives. Carignan’s arraignment is set for July 13 in Cumberland County Superior Court.

Detective Peter Fulton said the teens have since confessed to the bombings and have cooperated with Windham’s investigation, even helping police look for unexploded devices.

According to Fulton, Windham dispatch was notified Tuesday just after 2 p.m. that a bottle exploded on River Road after being thrown from an older-model black Honda with several teenage boys inside. The caller gave police a description of the vehicle, and police were able to identify the owner, which was one of the juveniles.

At about the same time, another 911 call came in from a woman on Highland Cliff Road, who reported hearing an explosion outside her home.

Fulton said the boys said they learned how to make the bombs by watching a how-to video on the website YouTube. Most of the “chemical bombs” were built using small plastic Poland Spring-type water bottles, which the boys preloaded with toilet bowl cleaner.

As they approached a mailbox, Fulton said, the boys would place aluminum foil into the liquid and then place the bottle in a mailbox or throw it onto a driveway and then drive off. The volatile concoction, Fulton said, would explode quickly, usually within 5 seconds if it were successful.

The boys, and their parents, presented themselves to police headquarters on Route 202 within hours of the bombings.

“All of them were pretty willing to work with us. I think this started out as a joyride that they thought was no big deal at first, until they realized the magnitude of what they had done, and realize what could have happened,” Fulton said.

Fulton said no one was hurt in the bombing spree, which is remarkable, he said, given the force of the explosions.

“Nobody got hurt, that’s the best part here,” he said. “But if those mailboxes were metal, and not plastic, and someone was riding or walking by, there was the potential for serious damage.”

Fulton said the quick apprehension and resulting help from the teens in locating any remaining unexploded bombs helped bring the case to a quick conclusion Tuesday night.

“Everything clicked. Dispatch did a great job. The info came in quickly from residents in the area, as well as notification of residents,” Fulton said.

Windham Lt. David DeGruchy also credited the town’s reverse 911 “City Watch” system, operated out of the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center in South Windham. The system notifies residents of danger using a pre-recorded message detailing the situation. The message on Tuesday informed South Windham residents of the danger and warned them to approach their mailbox with care.

DeGruchy said the several-year-old system is usually used for sex-offender notification and had been used only once before for criminal matter – two weeks earlier to notify residents of a police stand-off in the Highland Cliff Road area. DeGruchy said the system was essential in allowing police to focus on finding suspects.

“Rather than go door to door warning neighbors, we were able to free up those resources to focus on the investigation. That was extremely valuable,” DeGruchy said.

Windam police have charged three local teens with preparing and then detonating a series of homemade chemical bombs in mailboxes and driveways around South Windham on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Windham Police Department)
Travis Carignan