Authorities ID Suspect In Grenade Scare At John Wayne Airport

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities have identified a Kentucky man who allegedly sought to bring three military artillery fuses and a grenade in his checked bag on a flight from John Wayne Airport.

Gregory Salyer, 23, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon after the devices were discovered by Transportation Security Administration staff ran the luggage through baggage screening, according to Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock.

Salyer - who was recently discharged from the military - was also found with a small knife in his carry-on bag along with about 300 steroid and Adderall pills, according to Hallock.

Authorities evacuated Gate 21 after Salyer allegedly checked the items in luggage aboard Frontier Airlines flight 264 to Denver. Salyer and the rest of the flight's passengers were escorted off the plane, Hallock said.

All of the devices - including the sting ball grenade, which projects small rubber pellets when detonated - were in safe condition with no threat of detonation, Hallock said. Nothing suspicious was found in the suspect's carry-on bag.

Salyer was arrested on suspicion of placing explosives in a checked bag, possessing prohibited weapons in an airport, possession of controlled substances and possession of stolen property, according to Hallock. Salyer is being held on $500,000 bail.

Following the arrest, authorities lifted the evacuation of Terminal C and the airport returned to full operation around 3:30 p.m.

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