A 23-year-old Kentucky man, recently discharged from the Marine Corps, was behind bars Wednesday for allegedly trying to bring three military artillery fuses and a less-lethal sting ball grenade in his checked bag on a flight from John Wayne Airport to Denver.
Gregory Salyer, who was stationed last in Twentynine Palms, also was carrying a small knife in a bag he carried onto the plane, along with about 300 steroid and Adderall pills, according to Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock.
He was booked on suspicion of placing explosives in a checked bag, possessing prohibited weapons in an airport, possession of controlled substances and possession of stolen property, with bail set at $500,000, Hallock said.
The devices were discovered when Transportation Security Administration staff ran the luggage through screening sometime after 2 p.m. Tuesday, Hallock said. The grenade projects small rubber pellets when detonated, he said, adding that all of the devices were in safe condition with no threat of detonation.
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Authorities evacuated Gate 21 and escorted all of the Denver-bound passengers, including the suspect, off of Frontier Airlines flight 264, Hallock said.
Military officials, who were summoned to take possession of the devices, said the property was stolen from the military, Hallock said.
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Salyer was a field artillery cannoneer who served with Kilo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, attached to the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, according to Marine Sgt. Alfred Lopez.
According to a military publication, Salyer is a native of Independence, Ky., joined the Marines when he was 19 and did stints in Guam, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Cambodia and Kuwait.
Salyer told an interviewer that he planned to enter into a career in law enforcement and to continue his education with a major in business or criminal justice. He said he wanted to apply for jobs with the U.S. Marshals Service, FBI or the Secret Service, according to the article published on the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System, which carries releases issued by the military.
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