70-year-old threatens to ‘blow people up,’ then sets off car explosion, AZ cops say

A 70-year-old man threatened to “blow people up” before setting off an explosion in his car, Arizona police said.

Police began searching for James Crespo, who was wanted on felony weapons misconduct warrants out of Maricopa County, on Feb. 12, the Prescott Police Department said in a Facebook post.

“Crespo was possibly armed and was threatening to blow people up, including law enforcement,” police said.

Police said they found him driving toward Prescott and tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t pull over. Spike strips were set up, and he was seen holding a blowtorch out of his window, which he lit, police said.

He continued to ignore authorities and drove over the spike strips, police said. Crespo then drove into a residential area and rammed a police vehicle before deputies blocked him, police said.

Then his vehicle exploded and was “engulfed in flames,” police said. The explosion also set a deputy’s car on fire.

Crespo got out of his car and was holding a propane tank and blowtorch, police said. He was then detained and taken to a hospital for his injuries.

The investigation is ongoing.

Prescott is about a 100-mile drive north from Phoenix.

This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 11:42 AM with the headline "70-year-old threatens to ‘blow people up,’ then sets off car explosion, AZ cops say."

Helena Wegner

McClatchy DC

Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.