Man arrested for terrorizing neighbors with bombs

Phoenix police arrested a man early Friday morning that they say has been terrorizing an Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood with explosive devices.

Robert Franklin, 52, was booked into jail for possession of marijuana, but additional charges are expected over the next few days.

“We started to call him the uni-bomber,” said one neighbor, who asked that her name not be used.

She said Friday afternoon he tried to blow up her car. Police understood the reluctance of neighbors to go on the record, despite three years of problems.

“They are all very scared of him,” Officer Rick Tamburo said.

But a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department, Officer Luis Samudio, said that Franklin has been, “terrorizing the neighborhood, using small explosive devices,” and a pellet gun to blow out lights.

Patrol officers assisted the bomb squad and the Phoenix Fire Department when the search warrant was served around 7 a.m. Friday morning in the 126400 block of South 46^th Way.

No one was injured during the search of the two-story home, but bomb squad detectives did remove some evidence from the home and detectives took at least two pellet guns into custody.

The early-morning execution of the search warrant was the culmination of almost a year-long investigation by police officers. They say additional charges against Franklin can be expected.