Federal agents arrested a college student after finding a small
explosive device in his baggage as he passed through an airport
security checkpoint.
Officials
have found no apparent connection between University of Oklahoma
student Charles Alfred Dreyling Jr. and any terrorist group or
activity, said Agent Gary Johnson, an FBI spokesman.
Dreyling, 24, was released on $10,000 bail Thursday after appearing in federal court.
He faces a federal charge of trying to get on an aircraft with an
explosive device. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.
Dreyling was going through the security
checkpoint at Will Rogers World Airport on Wednesday when a
Transportation Security Administration employee noticed something
suspicious in his bag on the X-ray machine, Johnson said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Troester described the device as a carbon-dioxide cartridge with a black-powder detonator.
But Dreyling's landlord, former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, said he
had created a "glorified firecracker" and forgot it was in his luggage.
"I know Charlie Dreyling quite well," Humphreys said. "I
appreciate what the authorities are doing making our airlines safe. I
have every confidence that they'll find out Charlie Dreyling is a fine
young man and no terrorist."
Dreyling had planned to take a Delta flight to Philadelphia through Atlanta, airport spokeswoman Karen
Carney said. The arrest did not disrupt any flights, Carney said.
Dreyling told authorities he built the device for entertainment value, never
intending to hurt anyone and forgot that it was in his carryon bag when
he brought it to the airport, according to an affidavit.