UC student from Torrance arrested on explosives charges

A UC Davis freshman from Torrance was arrested this morning after investigators reported finding partially assembled pipe bombs in his dorm room, the university said.

Mark Christopher Woods, 19, was arrested on suspicion of possessing chemicals to make explosives and possessing explosive materials on school grounds, both felonies, university spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said.

Campus police went to Woods' room on the third floor of Tercero Residence Halls about 9 p.m. Wednesday after a neighboring student reported that there might be explosives inside, Lapin said. After investigators found the makings of at least two pipe bombs, she said, they took Woods into custody and evacuated 455 students from the dorm and six surrounding buildings on the west side of the main campus, near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Highway 113.

Overnight, investigators -- regional bomb squads and agents of the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- descended on the dorm room. This morning, federal investigators said explosives could be removed from the room, and students were expected to be allowed back into the dorm later today, Lapin said. Most have been staying at a nearby dining hall, she said.

Investigators had not been able to locate Woods' roommate and were questioning Woods, an economics major, Lapin said.

The campus remained open this morning, with classes in session.

"We do not expect further disruption to the university," Fred Wood, vice chancellor for student affairs, said in a statement this morning. "We are confident that university police and other local law enforcement agencies have the situation contained."

Woods will not be returning to class soon -- according to university policy, students facing felony charges are placed on interim suspension until their cases are completed, Lapin said. Woods was in UC Davis Police custody and was scheduled to be transferred to Yolo County Jail in Woodland today.

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com