[lbo-talk] "there's no room for that sort of joking"

[Shane Taylor]

fwd'd msg:

Teen arrested at Logan for alleged bomb threat in his bag

By Nicole Fuller, Globe Correspondent, 8/2/2003

A Paxton teenager was arraigned on a felony charge yesterday morning
after he and his family were removed from a plane bound for Hawaii
following the discovery of a profanity-filled note referencing a bomb in
his luggage examined at Logan International Airport.

Appearing in court with his navy blue T-shirt pulled up over his face,
17-year-old David Socha pleaded not guilty to one count of making a
bomb/hijacking threat in East Boston District Court, as his parents and
younger sister looked on.

Ann E. Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security
Administration, said the note was discovered by a baggage screener at
about 6:20 a.m. when the bag was chosen for a random search. No bomb was
found.

Socha was arrested by State Police and his mother, father, and sister,
were ordered off United Airlines Flight 171 to Honolulu via San
Francisco, which was set to depart at 7:07 a.m.

According to the police report, the note, which was placed on top of
clothes in a black gym bag read: ''[Expletive] you. Stay the [expletive]
out of my bag you [expletive] sucker. Have you found a [expletive] bomb
yet? No, just clothes. Am I right? Yea, so [expletive] you.''

Socha only spoke to answer ''yes'' to Judge Albert Conlon when he asked
the teenager if he would like to be represented by a court-appointed
lawyer.

Socha, who has no previous record, was released on $1,000 surety. Socha's
shirt remained over his face as he left the courthouse with his family.
They all declined to comment on the allegations.

According to the police report, when he was confronted by State Police,
Socha told his parents, ''I can explain this. I wrote a note in my bag
asking if there was a bomb in it and telling them to stay out.'' There
were no other delays at the airport due to the alleged threat, said
Davis, and the United flight departed from Logan on schedule.

''There was no commotion whatsoever,'' Davis said. ''But when [we] see
the word `bomb,' we take it very seriously. In today's security
environment, there's no room for that sort of joking.''

David A. Procopio, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's
Office, said in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, a number of bomb hoaxes
occurred at the airport, but now have become more sporadic with the
passing of time. 

''Putting a false bomb threat in your luggage is not something we take
lightly,'' Procopio said. ''In the current climate, it's just
unacceptable because of the fear and panic it causes.''

Ruth E. Ryan, a neighbor of the Socha family, said by phone yesterday
that the Sochas are a ''nice family.''

''I'm surprised,'' Ryan said. ''I thought he was a good kid.''

Socha is due back in court on Sept. 26 for a pretrial conference. 


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