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One day in June 2007, maintenance man Robert Lopez was taking out the trash at the Cadman Towers in Brooklyn Heights when he found some fake dynamite sticks attached to a clock. "I thought it was cool," he tells the Times, and so he took it home to make a piggy bank out of it. That idea landed him in Riker's Island (where inmates called him the "Mad Bomber") and an indictment on charges of "placing a false bomb or hazardous substance," a felony that carries up to four years in prison. A transit worker had spotted him carrying the fake dynamite and called police, who arrested him outside his Fort Greene apartment. Which he no longer rents; he lost his job and he's been homeless for a month. Sometimes he cleans a McDonald's in Brooklyn. Sad enough yet? In a teary interview with the Times, he explains, "On 9/11, from my roof of my building I could see the top of the towers smoking... I’m not a terrorist. I wouldn’t hurt nobody like that. Never." The Brooklyn D.A. isn't convinced, and Lopez is due back in court on Wednesday.
Fake Dynamite Find Stirs Up Real Trouble for Maintenance Man
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Now the homeless are terrorists, give the guy a break.
NYPD hard at work again, using our tax dollars.
It does make for a nifty looking clock. Not sure about a piggy bank.
how do those things work? I've only seen them on TV and movies. bad guys still use those things?
These used to be on sale at toy and novelty stores.
Times change.
yo, it's wearin' a clock like flava flav...
ima pee on it.
Looks real to me.
What a dumbass. How about he puts it in a bag, rather than walking down the street with it.
If the poor guy did that the DA would have also charged him with carrying a concealed weapon.
A time alarm bomb clock will blow you out of bed.
Here's a headline: Grandstanding Brooklyn D.A. Has Nothing Better To Do
It isn't against the law to be oblivious. We'd have arrested every single contestant on American Idol and Miss America!
LOL - yeah, Hynes is a jerk.
The man is obviously disturbed. The fake bomb brought him to the attention of the authorities and they arrested him. He belongs in a hospital.
>> The Brooklyn D.A. isn't convinced >>
Isn't convinced? It's fake. What was he going to blow up with it?
The picture shown here is does not appear to be the actual device (it's described as having a digital clock by the DA).
Gothamist, please clarify.
i haven't been this confused since the pic of bloomberg diving into a pool of gold coins.
throw this shit out of court....mens rea, bitcheeeessss
Reading the supposedly applicable law, I can't see how he can be convicted.
http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0240.62_240.62.html
Important sections: "places or causes to be placed in or upon school grounds, a public building, or a public place..." And, "he or she knows, intends or reasonably believes will appear to be a bomb, destructive device, explosive or hazardous substance under circumstances in which it is likely to cause public alarm or inconvenience."
Now, since he found it and had no doubt immediately that it wasn't real -- otherwise he probably would have called cops himself, not picked it up out of the trash -- how can it be alleged that he knew or believed that other people seeing him carrying it would think it was real? If he didn't believe that, he's not guilty.
The guy clearly is no threat, and never intended to be. The DA should stop wasting time and money and just drop the charge.
For Brooklyn DA Hynes' sake, that better not be how the actual device looked. The last time I saw a device like that one actually blow up, the coyote held up a sign that said "Help!"
Ugh, upto four years for finding a fake bomb and taking it home? But kill someone in your car and your good to go? What a fucking stupid country this is.