LAX employee arrested in connection with dry ice explosions

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LAX employee arrested in connection to dry ice explosions

William La Jeunesse reports from Los Angeles, California

Police have arrested a baggage handler in connection with the two dry ice bombs that exploded at Los Angeles International Airport over the weekend, according to a report on MyFoxLA.com.

Dicarlo Bennett, 28, an employee of one of the airport's ground crew companies, Servisair, was charged with possession of a destructive device near an aircraft, a felony. He's currently being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Servisair is contracted to handle baggage and other ramp functions at the airport. The Los Angeles Times, citing information from a Facebook page belonging to a Dicarlo Bennett, reported that Bennett had been a ramp supervisor for Servisair. It was not clear what position he held at the time of his arrest.

Investigators allege that Bennett took the dry ice from a plane, put it inside a 20-ounce plastic bottle, and placed it in an employee restroom, where it exploded Sunday night. They also allege that Bennet put a similar device on the tarmac outside the airport's international terminal the same night. Remnants of that device were found by an employee, who threw it away. The same employee found an unexploded bottle Monday evening and then reported what he found the previous day.

The bombs could have caused serious injury to anyone in close proximity, though no one was hurt, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Downing said earlier Tuesday.

"Our intent is to find the person who did it, build a prosecutable case, and put them in jail," he said.

Investigators were interviewing employees Tuesday and requesting that anyone with information come forward.

Police believe the explosions were set off because of an internal labor dispute and not terrorism because of the locations of the devices and because no innocent civilians were targeted, Downing said.

There were no reports of any injuries or evacuations. Flights were delayed Sunday night, but no flights were affected Monday.

While the two terminals are not connected, Downing said an employee could walk or drive between them on the tarmac.

Dry ice is widely used by vendors to keep food fresh.

According to the Transportation Security Administration's website, passengers can pack perishables in up to 5 pounds of dry ice in their carry-on or checked baggage as long as it's properly packaged — meaning the package is vented. Even so, the agency reserves the right to not allow it on the plane if they believe it poses a security concern.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.