Pikesville police make arrest in case of puzzling noise, lights

Police say they’ve made an arrest in connection with a middle-of-the-night mystery captured on videotape.Frederick Lee Mackler, 59, has been charged with controlled dangerous substance violations, possession of fireworks without a permit and reckless endangerment. He is being held on $1 million bail; a bail review was set for April 30.

Deafening blasts accompanied by blinding split-second flashes of light have been rattling residents of one neighborhood of this Baltimore suburb for months.

Police believed that the explosion sounds and light were made by someone discharging a pyrotechnic device. Investigators searched Mackler’s home and found pyrotechnics, illegal narcotics and firearms.

Elaine O’Mansky says she has heard the noise 25 times since September, always between midnight and dawn. She says the accompanying flash is bright enough to light up her bedroom.

Barbara Friedman says the first time she heard the blast she thought someone was shooting at her.

The police department set up cameras and recorded the phenomena last week.

The recorded flash lit up an area the size of a football field. Based on shadows, police believe the light source was in the air about 30 feet above the ground near the Beth Tfiloh Community School.

Source: Associated Press.