Boston, MA. — Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that two Massachusetts men have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged explosion on the Harvard Medical School campus early Saturday morning.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Logan David Patterson, 18, of Plymouth, and Dominick Frank Cardoza, 20, of Bourne, each face one count of conspiracy to damage property by means of an explosive. Authorities say the two entered the Goldenson Building—part of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Neurobiology—after setting off fireworks nearby and later detonated a large commercial firework inside a research laboratory.
The incident occurred around 2:45 a.m. on Nov. 1, when an explosion triggered fire alarms and prompted a campus police response. Surveillance footage allegedly shows the pair climbing scaffolding to reach the roof of the building and leaving minutes after the blast.
Investigators believe the explosion originated in a wooden locker inside the lab. “Analysis of the explosive is ongoing,” federal officials said.
Surveillance footage from nearby campuses later captured the suspects—both in various stages of undress—attempting to enter residential buildings and walking along Huntington Avenue with a third individual. Witnesses told investigators the two had been visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology for Halloween activities earlier that night.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the National Security Unit is prosecuting the case.
Authorities emphasized that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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