UC Davis police reported the arrest last week of Eric Calman in connection with the discovery of explosive materials in his residence hall room in January.

In a complaint filed by the Yolo County district attorney’s office, Calman is charged with two felony counts: possession of explosives on a university campus, and possession of materials with the intent to make an explosive or destructive device without a permit.

Campus police said Imperial County sheriff’s deputies made the arrest in Superior Court in El Centro on March 5, after Calman’s appearance in a separate case — the one that led to the search of the freshman’s dorm room.

Calman, an 18-year-old from Encinitas, San Diego County, was last enrolled at UC Davis in fall quarter 2008. He was on winter break when he was arrested Dec. 26 in Imperial County, east of San Diego.

Imperial County sheriff’s deputies said they arrested Calman and four minors near the Plaster City off-road recreation area after they allegedly set off an explosion.

Materials removed safely

UC Davis police subsequently obtained a search warrant for Calman’s room and reported finding unspecified explosive materials among his possessions. Authorities removed the materials safely on Jan. 3, one day before most students returned from winter break.

At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing on Feb. 11, an El Centro judge ordered Calman to stand trial on three felony charges: possession of a destructive device in a public place, sale or transport of an explosive device, and making a destructive device without a permit.

He pleaded not guilty during his March 5 court appearance, and, after leaving the courtroom, Imperial County deputies arrested him on behalf of UC Davis police.

Sgt. Paul Henoch of the campus Police Department said Calman went to the Imperial County Jail for booking. Bail was set at $100,000, and he gained his release the same day after posting a $10,000 bond.

He was ordered to appear in Yolo County Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. April 7. The California Penal Code specifies a prison term of two, four or six years for possession of explosives on a university campus, and two, three or four years for possession of materials with the intent to make an explosive or destructive device without a permit.

Calman remains free on $30,000 bail in connection with the charges against him in Imperial County. His next court date there is set for 8:30 a.m. April 7, for a pretrial conference and the setting of a trial date. That is the morning of his first court date in Yolo County — so it seems likely that one date or the other will need to be changed.

Community service

Calman’s arrest on Yolo County charges occurred one year to the day after campus police made an arrest in a similar case, this one involving freshman Mark Christopher Woods.

The 19-year-old is in the process of working off 1,050 hours of court-ordered community service in connection with his conviction on charges stemming from the discovery of explosive materials in his residence hall room a year ago.

An article in the Jan. 9 issue of Dateline gave an incorrect number of community service hours.

Woods said by e-mail Feb. 20 that he had so far completed about 200 hours of community service. He said his work includes tutoring and mentoring for the Academic Decathlon team at his alma mater, West High School in Torrance.

“I am proud to say the team recently won first place in regional competition, and will now be proceeding to the California state competition held in Sacramento this March,” Woods said.

He said he also has been volunteering with Sunshine Kids, putting on arts and crafts activities for children who are hospitalized with cancer, chaperoning children during out-of-hospital events, helping with informational booths at a Cancer Awareness Day, and performing office work at the organization’s West Coast headquarters.

Soon, he said, he is likely to start volunteering at a shelter for single mothers.

His plea agreement and sentence in Yolo County Superior Court also included 150 days of home detention, by electronic monitoring. He completed that part of his sentence on March 5 — one year to the day after his arrest.

Authorities safely removed the explosive materials from Woods’ room in the Tercero complex after evacuating some 455 students.