DNA Clears Man Charged With Detonating Explosive in Supermarket

A 26-year-old Portland man who was arrested in June on charges he set off an explosive device in a Fred Meyer Supermarket in Southeast Portland the previous month was freed from jail Thursday after he was cleared by DNA tests.

Those tests led to the arrest of a homeless man with 10 felony convictions who was captured on video at the time of the incident.

When the man — whose name Patch will not publish as all charges against him have been dropped — was arrestd, law enforcement officials conceded the case was circumstantial and asked the public to come forward with information.

The new arrest and the release of the man who had been previously charged were first reported by Brent Weisberg of KOIN.

The second arrest came after DNA tests linked Monte Robin Kaija to a piece of tape that had been used to make the pipe bomb.

Court documents indicate that Kaija told officials that he had made the bomb and set it off.

The explosion — at the Fred Meyer at 5253 Southeast 82nd Ave. — did not cause any injuries.

Kaija, who is being held on $260,000 bail, is charged with manufacturing and possession of an explosive device and arson.

He is due back in court Sept. 12.

Photo Multnomah County Sheriff's Office