Federal agency tracking Marine’s luggage on flight that originated in Las Vegas

The Transportation Security Administration is retracing the steps of a passenger who departed McCarran International Airport Saturday with luggage that included explosives, weapons and ammunition.

Justin W. Reed, a 22-year-old Marine corporal, was arrested after his baggage was scanned a second time during a layover at Boston-Logan International Airport on Sunday morning. Reid was arrested on charges of possessing a concealed weapon and possession of an infernal machine. He is being held on $50,000 bail.

Reed declared his firearm with the airline before boarding the flight, according to Salt Lake City-based TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird. However, Reed’s checked luggage contained materials that are illegal to carry onto an airplane.

In addition to the locked gun box with the semiautomatic handgun, Reed’s luggage contained a hand grenade fuse assembly with detonator, model rocket engines that contained explosive materials, a loaded gun magazine and several boxes of 9 mm and 7.62 mm ammunition.

“While the items found in the passengers’ checked luggage were prohibited and illegal, they did not pose an imminent threat to aviation,” Baird said.

The question immediately raised by frequent flyers is how the explosives cleared McCarran’s security process unnoticed.

“How is that possible?” asked 21-year-old Fabien Mathieu as he headed toward McCarran’s security gates Monday afternoon. “It’s scary.”

A $1.25 million in-line baggage screening system designed specifically to detect explosives was installed at McCarran within the last year.

McCarran representatives declined to comment on airport security, referring all calls to the TSA. Representatives with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives referred calls to the Boston office, which was closed Monday afternoon.

Selby Marks, an administrator with Nevada’s Homeland Security division, said Monday that his office was informed of the violations at McCarran and that the federal government is handling the incident.

Reed’s planned destination was Charlotte, N.C.

During a layover in Boston, airport crews accidentally placed his luggage on the baggage carousel. Once they realized the mistake, they collected Reed’s bags, but had to re-screen them because they had been left in an open public area.

Once the explosives were discovered, TSA employees contacted local law enforcement. Two other bags that Reed had checked onto the flight were also pulled from the U.S. Airways aircraft and screened. No explosives or weapons were found in those bags, according to the TSA.

The incident rattled passengers traveling through McCarran on Monday.

Mathieu, like Chicago native Kristan Jiggetts, had to board a U.S. Airways flight from McCarran, the same airline Reed flew.

“I find that highly disturbing,” Jiggetts said. “Obviously, TSA has a lot of work to do.”

Jiggetts didn’t absolve U.S. Airways.

“The airline has to have some accountability,” Jiggets said. “They have a bunch of people flying on the same plane.”

Mathieu and Jiggetts were incredulous that Reed’s weapons cleared security, especially in a time of heightened awareness at airports because of terrorist concerns, but 24-year-old Elizabeth Perez of New Jersey was more pragmatic.

“Reality is reality,” she said. “You can die anywhere. I think it’s a rare occurrence.”

Reed’s mother, Sandra Reed of Missouri, did not return a message left at her home Monday, however she told the Boston Globe that her son would never attempt to harm anyone.

“This is just a big misunderstanding,” she told the Globe. “I know I’m his mother, but he’s got a heart of gold.”

Sandra Reed told the newspaper that her son, who is stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., was in explosives training at California’s Twentynine Palms military base, located about 200 miles southwest of Las Vegas. Reed was traveling to Jacksonville, N.C. to surprise his wife on their two-year anniversary, she told the newspaper.

Reed is scheduled to be arraigned today .

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.