Man charged with bringing bomb in carry-on bag to California airport

Digital Media Manager

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

A man carrying what authorities described as an explosive device powerful enough to damage a plane, as well as a torch lighter, knife, zip ties and other items, was arrested after trying to pass through a Sacramento International Airport security checkpoint over the weekend, federal prosecutors said.

Kimani Osayande Jones, 49, of Sacramento, was arrested on Saturday after trying to make his way through a security checkpoint with the bomb in his carry-on bag.

Jones was wearing a scarf covering his face and latex gloves, according to federal prosecutors. He also had five cell phones: one with a 15-minute timer set to begin, a second with a message on the screen from another phone number saying, “we will be awaiting your call.”

Evidence photos released by prosecutors show a cardboard tube about the size of a toilet paper roll fitted with a green fuse. Bomb technicians tested the device. The powder and fuse “were determined to be viable and energetic,” U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said.

If the device had detonated next to a window on a pressurized aircraft flying above 10,000 feet, Grant said, “it had the potential to damage the aircraft and cause a possible loss of cabin pressure.”

Jones appeared in federal court in Sacramento on Wednesday. He is charged with unlawful possession of explosive material in an airport.

His public defender, Meghan McLoughlin, said in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday that “there is often more to these cases than the government’s allegations, and that the criminal process will reveal” her client’s story as well.

The Associated Press contributed to this report