Airbubba
17th Sep 2001, 19:23
Sept. 14, 2001, 11:37PM
Australian arrested at Bush Airport
'Terroristic threat' means jail for man
By JO ANN ZUŅIGA
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle
Houston police arrested an American Airlines passenger Friday after he told ticket-counter employees he had "a nuclear bomb" during routine questioning as he checked in.
Police considered the comment by Constantinos Carpis, 36, a "terroristic threat" and filed a misdemeanor charge against him.
Carpis, who had been en route to Australia, was handcuffed about noon at Bush Intercontinental Airport's Terminal A as media and passengers watched. At the same time, a big-screen television at a nearby lobby cafe broadcast bells tolling at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., for the nation's day of mourning.
Houston Police Department officers, wearing plastic gloves, searched Carpis behind a canvas and metal screen. A bomb-sniffing dog was brought in, but no bomb was found.
Carpis, casually dressed in tennis shoes, black pants and a black and purple T-shirt, was then interrogated by officers and federal investigators and taken to the city jail for the misdemeanor charge. Carpis, from Sylvania, New South Wales, was returning home to Australia.
"It is beyond me, with all the innocent lives lost, that someone would be so dumb and callous to make these comments in an airport, especially to American Airlines," said Houston airport system spokesman Ernie DeSoto.
"I don't know if it was a sarcastic remark or a joke. I know people are tired and just want to get home. But once you make these comments, there's no turning back or saying `I'm sorry,' " DeSoto said.
A routine airport recording warns passengers not to joke or make comments concerning weapons of any sort "that could lead to your arrest," he said.
DeSoto said an American Airlines official emphatically said of Carpis, "This guy's gone. He's not getting on my plane."
The American Airlines office referred questions dealing with "security issues" to the FBI headquarters in Washington.
Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon confirmed that Carpis was under arrest and being charged with making a terroristic threat.
"It may be a misdemeanor on paper, but as tense as the situation is now, it's taken seriously. But he would have been arrested whether he made this statement today or last year," Cannon said.
Harris County prosecutor Bill Hawkins said the charge of making a terroristic threat has different ranges.
"Depending on the facts of the case, it could be a Class B misdemeanor with up to six months in jail or a Class A with up to a year," Hawkins said.
"It could even be moved up to a third-degree felony if it causes severe impairment of transportation, which would bring two to 10 years," he said.
Harmon Green, a passenger waiting on another flight, witnessed the arrest.
"I'm not worried. I'm a very frequent flyer all over the world and I do believe that security has been too lax here in the United States," said Green, a businessman with the food industry who has flown to South America, Canada and Europe.
Green said the extra waiting time for security measures would be worth the effort if it led to improved safety.
Australian arrested at Bush Airport
'Terroristic threat' means jail for man
By JO ANN ZUŅIGA
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle
Houston police arrested an American Airlines passenger Friday after he told ticket-counter employees he had "a nuclear bomb" during routine questioning as he checked in.
Police considered the comment by Constantinos Carpis, 36, a "terroristic threat" and filed a misdemeanor charge against him.
Carpis, who had been en route to Australia, was handcuffed about noon at Bush Intercontinental Airport's Terminal A as media and passengers watched. At the same time, a big-screen television at a nearby lobby cafe broadcast bells tolling at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., for the nation's day of mourning.
Houston Police Department officers, wearing plastic gloves, searched Carpis behind a canvas and metal screen. A bomb-sniffing dog was brought in, but no bomb was found.
Carpis, casually dressed in tennis shoes, black pants and a black and purple T-shirt, was then interrogated by officers and federal investigators and taken to the city jail for the misdemeanor charge. Carpis, from Sylvania, New South Wales, was returning home to Australia.
"It is beyond me, with all the innocent lives lost, that someone would be so dumb and callous to make these comments in an airport, especially to American Airlines," said Houston airport system spokesman Ernie DeSoto.
"I don't know if it was a sarcastic remark or a joke. I know people are tired and just want to get home. But once you make these comments, there's no turning back or saying `I'm sorry,' " DeSoto said.
A routine airport recording warns passengers not to joke or make comments concerning weapons of any sort "that could lead to your arrest," he said.
DeSoto said an American Airlines official emphatically said of Carpis, "This guy's gone. He's not getting on my plane."
The American Airlines office referred questions dealing with "security issues" to the FBI headquarters in Washington.
Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon confirmed that Carpis was under arrest and being charged with making a terroristic threat.
"It may be a misdemeanor on paper, but as tense as the situation is now, it's taken seriously. But he would have been arrested whether he made this statement today or last year," Cannon said.
Harris County prosecutor Bill Hawkins said the charge of making a terroristic threat has different ranges.
"Depending on the facts of the case, it could be a Class B misdemeanor with up to six months in jail or a Class A with up to a year," Hawkins said.
"It could even be moved up to a third-degree felony if it causes severe impairment of transportation, which would bring two to 10 years," he said.
Harmon Green, a passenger waiting on another flight, witnessed the arrest.
"I'm not worried. I'm a very frequent flyer all over the world and I do believe that security has been too lax here in the United States," said Green, a businessman with the food industry who has flown to South America, Canada and Europe.
Green said the extra waiting time for security measures would be worth the effort if it led to improved safety.