Posted on 07/25/2008 8:38:08 AM PDT by WackySam
TAMPA -- A man who pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle a box cutter in a book through Tampa International Airport security was sentenced today in federal court to a year's probation.
Baines Benjamin Baines Jr., 22, of Largo, faced up to six months in prison. He told Senior U.S. District Judge William J. Castagna that he is "a good kid" who learned from his mistake.
"I learned to check my bags more carefully," Baines said.
Baines pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle a box cutter onto an airplane through the hollowed out pages of a book in his backpack. Airport security officers spotted the knife through an X-ray machine as Baines prepared to board a Southwest Airlines flight on Feb. 17. Baines said he used the book to hide marijuana from his roommates and had forgotten that the knife was in there.
Baines was on his way to Nevada, where he planned to begin working with his father, said defense attorney Thomas Ostrander.
"This was a difficult circumstance that does not reflect his character," Ostrander said in court. "This has been a difficult disruption in his life."
Ostrander said other items found inside Baines' backpack made the incident more "sensational" than it was. Baines also had a Koran, a Bible, gang literature and hand-written rap lyrics.
Baines pleaded guilty to state charges of carrying a concealed weapon on the day of his arrest and served 30 days in in the Hillsborough County Jail.
Ostrander said other items found inside Baines' backpack made the incident more "sensational" than it was. Baines also had a Koran, a Bible, gang literature and hand-written rap lyrics.
A year of probation? UFB!
Jihadist.
It appears he also spent 30 days in jail.
Did he then mumble under his breath: so I won't get caught next time.
A Koranimal tries to sneak a boxcutter onto a plane and he gets probation?
Yeah, the first thing any of us do when packing for airtravel nowadays is to make sure that we pack in our backpack a book we use for our stash!
“TAMPA - A 21-year-old Clearwater man was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said.
Benjamin Baines Jr.
If convicted, Baines faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for a federal charge of attempting to board an airplane with a concealed dangerous weapon. He is currently serving a 30 day
sentence after pleading guilty Monday to a state misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon.
About 7:30 a.m. Sunday, airport security ran Benjamin Baines Jr.’s backpack through an X-ray machine and saw the image of a box cutter, according to a report from the Transportation Security Administration.
When searching the backpack, a security officer found a book titled “Fear Itself.” The book was hollowed out, and the box cutter was inside.
After Baines was read his rights, he said his cousin had cut away the pages to make the hollow section in the book. Later, reports state, he said he had hollowed it out himself to hide money and marijuana from his roommates.
Baines told officers he was moving to Las Vegas and forgot the cutter was in the book.
Officers found books in the backpack titled “Muhammad in the Bible,” “The Prophet's Prayer” and “The Noble Qur’an.” He also had a copy of the Quran and the Bible.
Several sheets of paper in the backpack included rap lyrics that referred to police, narcotics, weapons and killing. Baines told officers he is a rapper who writes his own lyrics and that rap music writers need to “play the part,” the report states.
Officers performed a background check and found no record of crimes or active warrants.
He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and booked into Orient Road Jail. At his first appearance in court Monday, Baines pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, according to an employee with the Hillsborough County clerk of court. He remained in Orient Road Jail today.
The U.S. Attorney's Office also filed a federal charge of attempting to board an aircraft with a concealed dangerous weapon. The federal charge against Baines was filed Sunday but was not announced until today, said Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.
Cole said Baines will be arrested by U.S. marshals upon his release from jail on the state charge.”
http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/content/2008/feb/20/man-airport-had-box-cutter-hidden-book/
How much time will they give your Swedish grandmother if she has a knitting needle in her bag?
Imagine if he’d succeeded, and used the box cutter to hijack the plane.
Three years probation.
This judge just qualified for Vermont’s Jurist of the Year award. (So many pedophiles; so few probation officers.)
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