SVPD arrest man after finding suspected pipe bombs

Several Scotts Valley residents found themselves evacuated by Scotts Valley police last Thursday afternoon, after officers located what they believed to be pipe bombs during a probation compliance check of a Willis Road residence.
At approximately 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, SVPD officers arrested Michael Christopher Malloy, 40, after he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and under the influence of a controlled substance.
Upon further search of Malloy’s residence, detectives located marijuana and a metal box containing what appeared to be seven pipe bomb devices.
“We stumbled on what appeared to be an old ammo can,” said SVPD Detective Sergeant Justin Milroy. “They had a real fuse and they were assembled (in a manner) consistent with a pipe bomb.”
Officers then evacuated the house, as well as the neighbors while awaiting the bomb disposal unit of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
After the suspicious devices were made safe by the bomb unit, Malloy was arrested and booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance, being under the influence of a controlled substance, possessing a destructive device, and child endangerment.
Milroy said that the remnants of the devices were sent to a U.S. Department of Justice lab for testing to determine whether or not they were, in fact, pipe bombs.
Child services was also contacted by the SVPD, Milroy said.
“There were a lot of concerns about the condition of the house,” he said.