OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A University of Oklahoma student was released on $10,000 bail Thursday after appearing in federal court to be formally accused of a felony for allegedly bringing a small explosive device into Will Rogers World Airport.
Federal agents arrested Charles Alfred Dreyling Jr., 24, on Wednesday at a security checkpoint after a Transportation Security Administration employee noticed something suspicious in his carryon luggage as it went through an X-ray machine about 9:30 a.m., FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said.
The device was described in an FBI affidavit as a carbon dioxide cartridge filled with gunpowder that could be detonated when connected to a power source such as the batteries Dreyling had in his electric razor and in his cell phone, which were also in his carryon bag.
An FBI bomb technician concluded the device could detonate with sufficient force to cause serious injury.
Dreyling faces a federal charge of trying to get on an aircraft with an explosive device. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
He was released to the custody of his mother, Vicki Dreyling. His terms of release include living at his parents' home in north Oklahoma City and a 10 p.m. curfew.
Dreyling appeared in federal court wearing an orange Oklahoma County jail jumpsuit and orange flip-flops. About twenty friends and family members attended the hearing in a show of support for Dreyling.
Former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, who is Dreyling's landlord and his longtime friend, also came to the hearing.
Humphreys said Dreyling had created a ''glorified firecracker'' and then forgotten that it was in his luggage.
Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney said Dreyling planned to travel to Philadelphia on a Delta flight that connected through Atlanta. Humphreys said Dreyling was traveling with his family on a vacation to see relatives on the East Coast.
Dreyling told authorities that he had made the device and said it was ''basically a pipe bomb,'' according to an affidavit. Dreyling said he built the device for entertainment value, never intending to hurt anyone, and forgot that it was in his carryon bag when he brought it to the airport, the affidavit said.
Dreyling said he learned as a teenager how to build homemade explosives from Web sites like ''The Anarchist's Cook Book.'' Dreyling said he has built and detonated several explosive devices for recreational purposes, according to the affidavit.
He also told authorities that he had a bag of gunpowder, an empty carbon dioxide cartridge, and several ignitors in his Norman residence, according to the affidavit.
''I know Charlie Dreyling quite well,'' Humphreys said. ''I've known him since he was in the first grade. I appreciate what the authorities are doing making our airlines safe.
''I have every confidence that they'll find out Charlie Dreyling is a fine young man and no terrorist.
''He had a little explosive device, and boys like to see things go bang. He took it down to an outing at the lake, left it in his bag, forgot it and went to the airport.''
Dreyling's carryon bag was removed and an Oklahoma City police officer detained him until the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force came to the airport, Johnson said.
A preliminary hearing for Dreyling was set for Aug. 31.
No apparent connection between Dreyling and any terrorist group or activity has been found, Johnson said.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
