Long Beach, CA - Bomb Threat by Florida Student to JetBlue Flight

Long Beach, CA - Authorities have arrested 21-year-old Yechezkel Wells, after he called in a bomb threat from a public phone to the Long Beach Airport because he arrived late for his flight and was prevented from boarding, and he is being held at a federal detention center in Los Angeles following his arrest, FBI Special Agent Kenneth Smith said. He was arrested by local law enforcement at the airport based on unspecified information in his call.

Wells is accused of calling in the threat after he arrived only minutes before a JetBlue flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was scheduled to leave and was denied a boarding pass, Smith said.
It was not immediately known which college he attends. "He admitted that there was no bomb and admitted he was upset because he wasn't allowed to board the plane," Smith said.

The plane departed about an hour late after authorities using bomb-sniffing dogs determined it was safe.

Three friends traveling with Wells all on there way back from a wedding, were also detained but released after being questioned.


U/D: 08/29/06
Yechezkel made an initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles, and for now he is being released on $100,000 bond.
While on bail, he will only be allowed to leave home on a limited basis and must return to Los Angeles for his arraignment in federal court Sept. 18.

Defense attorney Donald Etra says his client is being prosecuted for "one moment of gross stupidity." And his client realizes the seriousness of what he did "in the severity of today's world."