LAX dry ice bombs: Airport employee arrested

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An airport employee has been arrested in connection with dry ice explosions at Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.

According to police, 28-year-old Dicarlo Bennett was arrested late Tuesday in the city of Paramount. He is an employee of Servisair, which does baggage handling and ramp services at LAX. Bennett was booked for possessing a destructive device near an aircraft. His bail was set at $1 million.

In a limited statement, Servisair said it was aware of the situation but did not have any comments at this time.

A co-worker of Bennett told ABC News that he was nervous about an upcoming merger with a company named Swissport, and that morale was very bad.

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Bennett allegedly took the dry ice from a plane and placed it in an employee restroom Sunday night and another device that was found on a tarmac outside the international terminal.

On Sunday night, police say one dry ice device exploded in an employee bathroom in Terminal 2 and another exploded near an airplane at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. The remnants of that second device were discovered on the tarmac Monday night. Flights were unaffected and no one was hurt.

One other dry ice device that did not go off was located by an airport employee in a restricted area near Terminal 4. Another bottle that the LAPD earlier thought was involved turned out to be trash.

The two dry ice bomb explosions prompted heightened security at the airport on Tuesday. Airport officials said officers were on extra patrols, including on foot, bike and canine teams, at all terminals on the airfield ramps and in the public areas.

Investigators with the LAPD's Criminal Conspiracy Division said earlier that the ice bombs may be the work of a disgruntled employee and that they might be connected to an ongoing labor dispute at the airport.

All of the devices were found in areas the general public does not have access to. Investigators reviewed surveillance video, interviewed airport workers, and checked for DNA and fingerprints on the evidence left behind in order to catch the person responsible.

At this point, authorities do not consider the crimes to be linked to terrorism. The FBI is assisting LAPD's Criminal Conspiracy Division in the investigation.

Authorities are asking the public to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to airport police.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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