Los Angeles (AFP) – A man was charged with planting at least two “dry ice” bombs at the main Los Angeles airport, and could face up to six years in jail, police said.
Airport employee Dicarlo Bennett — who police say set off the devices as a prank rather than anything more sinister — pleaded not guilty to two counts of possessing a destructive device in a public place.
Nobody was injured by the devices going off, but they led to evacuations and disrupted flights.
“He was a prankster. He thought it was funny,” Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Michael Downing told the LA Times.
“There is nothing funny about what he did. This is a serious pipe bomb filled with shrapnel; it is a destructive device.”
Los Angeles International Airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon said the matter would be dealt with “very seriously.”
One of the contraptions that exploded was placed early Sunday evening in an employee restroom at the airport, police said.
A second was deposited near an aircraft at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, it added.
Both devices were made with plastic bottles, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The second, discovered more than 24 hours after the first, had not exploded but was fizzing when it was found.
Another device was also found Monday, but did not go off.
Bennett was ordered to be held on $1 million bail pending a bail review hearing Wednesday.
He faces up to six years in jail if convicted, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
AFP Photo/Frederic J. Brown
