BIDDEFORD — Police arrested two young males Tuesday and charged them with criminal use of explosives, Deputy Chief JoAnne Fisk said this morning.

Patrol officers and officers with the department’s Street Crimes Unit arrested Devon Cervantes, 20, of Biddeford, as well as a 17-year-old male, charging both with the Class C crime. Cervantes was taken to the York County Jail in Alfred, where his bail has been set at $1,500, while the juvenile was released and is now in the custody of his mother.

The arrests stem from reports Biddeford police had been receiving over the past few days of explosions near the intersections of Cleaves and Judge streets as well as George and Clifford streets, said Fisk. Through an investigation, she said police discovered the devices responsible for the reports were plastic soda bottles pressurized with chemicals so that they’ll explode like bombs.

In a Tuesday afternoon post on the BPD’s Facebook page, a spokesperson for the department referred to the devices as “acid bombs.” Fisk said the devices rely on a contained chemical reaction and acid is what gives them their “oomph.” When they explode, they send bits of the bottle and chemicals into the surrounding area, she said.

Although Fisk said she’s unsure whether the devices could prove fatal, she did say they “clearly could hurt someone and put someone in the hospital.”

The Biddeford Fire Department was first called to the area near the intersection of Cleaves and Judge streets at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, Fire Captain Rick Dussault said this morning.

When firefighters arrived on scene, he said they observed soda bottles packed with aluminum foil, which suggested they were explosives of some kind.

Firefighters were called to the area three times, said Dussault. The first time they neutralized three devices, he said, the second time two devices and the third time one device. He said one device detonated without injuring anyone, and firefighters “poked holes” in the rest to depressurize them.

Dussault said the main concern with these devices is people, including children or the homeless, picking them up without knowing what they actually are.

“We do have a lot of people who depend on nickels and dimes to survive, and they go out and pick up these bottles all the time, and if one of these unfortunate souls were to go out and pick these up they would’ve had a bad experience,” said Dussault. “We have to worry about the people picking these up without knowing what’s inside of them.”

Fisk said neither individual gave a motive for his actions. Class C crimes are punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or averzoni@journaltribune.com.