| For Immediate Release Case # TBA May 30, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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DISNEY EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH POSSESSION OF DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE AFTER TWO EXPLOSIONS IN THEME PARK OF WATER BOTTLES CONTAINING DRY ICE
SANTA ANA – An employee of Disneyland has been charged with possessing a destructive device in a public place after two water bottles containing dry ice exploded in a Toon Town trash bag and vending cart. Christian Isaiah Barnes, 22, Long Beach, is charged with one felony count of possession of a destructive device in a public place. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. Barnes is expected to be held on $500,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned today, Thursday, May 30, 2013, at 1:00 p.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
At the time of the crime, Barnes is accused of being an employee at Disneyland in Anaheim.
On May 28, 2013, Barnes is accused of being in possession of two water bottles containing dry ice. This combination can be used to create a destructive device in the form of a dry ice bomb.
Sometime after 4:00 p.m., a female employee went to relieve the defendant from his shift at a vending cart outside of Toon Town. Barnes is accused of opening the vending cart, at which time the first water bottle containing dry ice exploded.
The defendant is accused of then taking the second water bottle from the cart and walking away toward the employee break room. While passing through Toon Town, Barnes is accused of placing the second water bottle containing dry ice in a trash can. He is accused of then leaving the immediate area.
Several minutes later, a custodian was removing trash bags from trash cans in Toon Town and removed the bag containing the destructive device. The custodian put the bag on the ground and walked a short distance to clear another trash can. While the trash bag was on the ground, the water bottle exploded.
The Anaheim Police Department (APD) responded to the scene regarding the second explosion and learned during the investigation of the first explosion. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad also responded to the scene.
Barnes is accused of being identified by APD as the responsible party and he was arrested at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing. Some victims have reported ringing in their ears.