2 men accused of setting off soda bottle bombs at movie theaters indicted in Maryland

Prince George's County prosecutors said Tuesday that 20-year-old Manuel Joyner-Bell and 23-year-old Michael Hollingsworth were indicted on charges including possession of a destructive device, assault, and reckless endangerment

Both were arrested after a May explosion at the Magic Johnson Theater in Largo. Authorities say Joyner-Bell confessed to setting off six bottle bombs at five theaters in the Washington area this spring. Officials say sealed soda bottles combining acid and a base inside were detonated, panicking moviegoers and leading to evacuations but causing no serious injuries.

What did they do...put Mentos into Diet Coke? This sounds more like a prank than some sort of terrorism.

Acid and base? Baking soda and vinegar? Jeez. Overreact much.

My dad would have been a criminal mastermind for all of the 'terrorist acts' he perpetrated in high school with his chemistry set.

Next people will be getting 20 years for TPing someones house.

Source

a reply to: Metallicus

Sitting down on a sticky seat in a theater ? Give'em the chair I reckon,

a reply to: Metallicus

Toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil can make for quite the bomb.
And in this day and age, it's a wonder no one got shot.

Stupid thing to do, but I have seen cases where young teens are charged with making a chemical weapon doing stunts like this. Not smart.
If they really felt the need to do it, they should have went somewhere that didnt have a bunch of people in a crowded dark place. That is on them.

While the charges of assault and manufacture of a destructive device seem ludicrous reckless endangerment is not.

What they did is the equivalent to shouting "fire!" in a theater. Causing panic and a disruption of business.

Pranks are all well and good but keep it local. Once you move out of your circle of friends and acquaintances for the prank you're risking a lot of trouble and potential expense.

Blow up your friends mailbox = prank
Blowing up a complete strangers mailbox = 'terroristic act'

Extra stupidity points if they used drain cleaner and aluminum foil. Mentos and cola or baking soda and vinegar are essentially harmless. Drain cleaner is not.

a reply to: thisguyrighthere

Extra stupidity points if they used drain cleaner and aluminum foil. Mentos and cola or baking soda and vinegar are essentially harmless. Drain cleaner is not.

And if they added a few steel bb's to the mix, it wouldn't just be a prank any longer.
Done properly, it could kill....easily.

These morons deserve what they get. They aren't children...they are young men. They should know better.
Apparently, they don't. Apparently, a lot of people don't.

In this case, and assuming they used drain cleaner and foil, the charge of manufacture of a destructive device is not at all too hefty. It is, by definition, what it was. (I'd almost bet the farm that is what they used and was my first thought when I saw this story)

a reply to: thisguyrighthere

Extra stupidity points if they used drain cleaner and aluminum foil. Mentos and cola or baking soda and vinegar are essentially harmless. Drain cleaner is not.

The mentos and coke would create such a nasty, sticky mess that one would want to follow it up with the baking soda and vinegar, to clean it up

Dumb thing to do in a public place though. Too many people on edge these days. Plus the cost of clean up if it was mentos and coke . I'll have to look up the drain cleaner thing. That just sounds dangerous. ...

a reply to: the owlbear

Stupid thing to do, but I have seen cases where young teens are charged with making a chemical weapon doing stunts like this. Not smart.
If they really felt the need to do it, they should have went somewhere that didnt have a bunch of people in a crowded dark place. That is on them.

I agree, the kids weren't considering the consequences before doing this prank. Too many kids today don't think about the ramifications of their actions. They live for the moment. Unfortunately, with the fear of terrorism, doing things that will startle a public gathering is really stupid. It's also not respecting private property. I think part of their sentence should be to scrub the theater seats and carpet and pay a fine. I'm sure they'll learn their lesson the hard way and think twice about doing something so foolish again.

I just looked up drano and foil.
Very, very dangerous- and apparently far too common.

Never picking up a stray bottle again without looking at it closely first...

There is part of the problem with the country. people believing that doing these things in a theater is just fine. So much for others right to enjoy a movie and not be but in a dangerous situation by people in a panic.

Do it in your backyard. Tear up your own stuff.

a reply to: roadgravel

25 years ago they would have been made to clean it up and sent home with a scolding. Now they are hard-core criminals. I know it was stupid, but come on...felonies?

Agreed..People should be able to do anything they want without any accountability or repercussions.
Hell those innocent boys should have just been able to randomly walk around and pinch people. I mean pinching isn't dangerous right?
Accountability, who needs it.

And if someone was injured or killed in a rush to get out of the building they believe bombs are going off in? That's not a prank, that's seriously dangerous.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: roadgravel

25 years ago they would have been made to clean it up and sent home with a scolding. Now they are hard-core criminals. I know it was stupid, but come on...felonies?

Show me when it has ever been ok to scream fire in a crowded theatre for a laugh.

Ok - couple things on this :

Largo is in FL not MD.
Magic Johnson has a movie theater named after him.
These kids are being held without bail for this?

yeesh - Mentos & Soda is now a non-bailable offense & terrorist activity.
I gotta get the hell out of this country!

originally posted by: BABYBULL24
Ok - couple things on this :

Largo is in FL not MD.
Magic Johnson has a movie theater named after him.
These kids are being held without bail for this?

yeesh - Mentos & Soda is now a non-bailable offense & terrorist activity.
I gotta get the hell out of this country!

No. Depends on where you do it.

Shooting a gun is fine. Shooting a gun in a crowded building is not.

Same principle applies. Had they done this in an abandoned parking lot, or backyard, it would not be a big deal. They purposefully chose the location for the very reasons that are getting them in trouble.

Okey....equating Mentos & Coke to a gun are yah.

Your so far down the Police State Hole...no sense in debating.

originally posted by: BABYBULL24
Okey....equating Mentos & Coke to a gun are yah.

Your so far down the Police State Hole...no sense in debating.

what does this have to do with a police state? Nothing.

You just have no retort so instead use red herrings.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: BABYBULL24
Ok - couple things on this :

Largo is in FL not MD.
Magic Johnson has a movie theater named after him.
These kids are being held without bail for this?

yeesh - Mentos & Soda is now a non-bailable offense & terrorist activity.
I gotta get the hell out of this country!

No. Depends on where you do it.

Shooting a gun is fine. Shooting a gun in a crowded building is not.

Same principle applies. Had they done this in an abandoned parking lot, or backyard, it would not be a big deal. They purposefully chose the location for the very reasons that are getting them in trouble.

yeah man....terrorists....we do not need them in todays world.....i mean just imagine if they had a dirty bomb or just some TNT they could have blown the place up....wow lock em quick

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: BABYBULL24
Ok - couple things on this :

Largo is in FL not MD.
Magic Johnson has a movie theater named after him.
These kids are being held without bail for this?

yeesh - Mentos & Soda is now a non-bailable offense & terrorist activity.
I gotta get the hell out of this country!

No. Depends on where you do it.

Shooting a gun is fine. Shooting a gun in a crowded building is not.

Same principle applies. Had they done this in an abandoned parking lot, or backyard, it would not be a big deal. They purposefully chose the location for the very reasons that are getting them in trouble.

yeah man....terrorists....we do not need them in todays world.....i mean just imagine if they had a dirty bomb or just some TNT they could have blown the place up....wow lock em quick

Or, you know, man, they could have caused panic which led to the death or serious injury of a person as people stampeded out of what they thought was a deadly situation.

You are right though, there should be no consequences, who needs consequences today, we are such a better country since people stopped taking responsibility for their actions.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: BABYBULL24
Ok - couple things on this :

Largo is in FL not MD.
Magic Johnson has a movie theater named after him.
These kids are being held without bail for this?

yeesh - Mentos & Soda is now a non-bailable offense & terrorist activity.
I gotta get the hell out of this country!

No. Depends on where you do it.

Shooting a gun is fine. Shooting a gun in a crowded building is not.

Same principle applies. Had they done this in an abandoned parking lot, or backyard, it would not be a big deal. They purposefully chose the location for the very reasons that are getting them in trouble.

yeah man....terrorists....we do not need them in todays world.....i mean just imagine if they had a dirty bomb or just some TNT they could have blown the place up....wow lock em quick

Or, you know, man, they could have caused panic which led to the death or serious injury of a person as people stampeded out of what they thought was a deadly situation.

You are right though, there should be no consequences, who needs consequences today, we are such a better country since people stopped taking responsibility for their actions.

sensationalize much ?

violent crime just sux...this was a prank....nothing more