Twist Street

2 notes

A man who boarded a Los Angeles-bound plane from Japan wearing a bulletproof vest and flame retardant pants with knives, body bags and an alleged pyrotechnic smoke grenade in his checked luggage was ordered held without bail Friday by a federal judge who said the man was a flight risk. Yongda Huang Harris, 28, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Chinese descent, was arrested Friday at LAX and faces a charge of transporting hazardous materials for the smoke grenade. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Abrams ordered Harris detained after hearing arguments from a prosecutor who said authorities found material on his computer that showed a sexual interest in young girls and an inclination to violence against children. Authorities have said Harris also had in his luggage three leather-coated billy clubs, a collapsible baton, a full-face respirator, a hatchet, a biohazard suit, handcuffs, leg irons and a device to repel dogs.

[His attorney] said his client was a “nice young man, shy and gentle.