Crime & Safety

Details: Disney Employee Charged in Dry Ice Blasts

A 22-year-old Disneyland employee faces up six years in prison if convicted for detonating ice bombs at the theme park.

A 22-year-old Disneyland employee was charged today with setting off two dry-ice bombs in the Anaheim theme park, forcing the evacuation of Mickey's Toontown but causing no injuries.

Christian Isaiah Barnes of Long Beach was expected to be arraigned this afternoon on a felony count of possession of a destructive device in a public place, said Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Barnes, who was working at Disneyland as an "outdoor vending cast member," was arrested late Tuesday, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said.

As Barnes was being relieved by a co-worker at a vending cart outside of Toontown about 4 that afternoon, he opened the cart, which is when the first water bottle filled with dry ice exploded, Emami said.

Barnes is accused of taking another water bottle filled with dry ice and putting it in a trashcan in Toontown, Emami said.

A janitor removed the bag containing the explosive several minutes later and left it on the ground while he walked over to another trash can to empty it, Emami said. The device exploded in the meantime.

Barnes was "cooperating" with investigators, telling them the blasts were "isolated incident(s) with unanticipated impacts," Dunn said Wednesday.

The second makeshift device exploded about 5:15 p.m. in the covered trash can in Toontown, an area of the park generally geared toward younger children, Dunn said.

No one was injured in either explosion, but Disney officials closed down Toontown for about three hours while the rest of the park remained open.

"We take matters like this very seriously and are working closely with local authorities," Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said.

Barnes could face up to six years in prison if convicted.

- City News Service 


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