14 DAY TRIAL // An employee has been arrested after four dry ice bombs have been planted at Los Angeles airport.
Officials have taken 28-year-old Dicarlo Bennett in custody on Tuesday. He does baggage handling and he is employed by a contractor at LAX. Servisair also delivers ramp services for the airport.
KABC reports that Bennett has been charged with possessing a destructive device near an aircraft, and he has been detained under $1 million (€740K) bond.
He is accused of setting at least two dry ice bombs, using ice taken from a plane. One was found in the employee restroom Sunday night and a second one was placed on a tarmac outside the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Explosives expert Paul Worsey tells LA Times that the devices would only deliver a scare. They consists of bottles with dry ice inside.
"They're really not a bomb, just a noise generator. [...] It wouldn't really be effective," Worsey says.
The first "bomb" went off near Terminal two, and the second one also detonated. However, no flights were delayed in the process.
The second device exploded on Monday at about 8:30 p.m., and it was placed in an area where only staff had access.
Four dry ice bombs were placed in restricted areas around the airport, but only the two mentioned above went off. They were all located outside terminals and in the proximity of airplanes.
"Whether you think this is a harmless prank or a way to disrupt operations at the airport, it won't matter. [...] You will go to jail," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck explains.
"They're not some prank that somebody left behind. [...] So once we identify the suspect, he's going to be in a significant amount of trouble," LAPD Cmdr. Blake Chow noted before the arrest was made.
He also mentioned that police were looking at surveillance tapes in restricted areas.