"Teen Arrested For Bomb Note At Logan"

Saturday, August 2, 2003

Teen arrested at Logan for alleged bomb threat in his bag 
By Nicole Fuller
The Boston (MA) Globe


A Paxton teenager was arraigned on a felony charge yesterday morning after
he and his family were removed from a plane bound for Hawaii following the
discovery of a profanity-filled note referencing a bomb in his luggage
examined at Logan International Airport. 

Appearing in court with his navy blue T-shirt pulled up over his face,
17-year-old David Socha pleaded not guilty to one count of making a
bomb/hijacking threat in East Boston District Court, as his parents and
younger sister looked on. 

Ann E. Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration,
said the note was discovered by a baggage screener at about 6:20 a.m. when
the bag was chosen for a random search. No bomb was found. 

Socha was arrested by State Police and his mother, father, and sister, were
ordered off United Airlines Flight 171 to Honolulu via San Francisco, which
was set to depart at 7:07 a.m. 

According to the police report, the note, which was placed on top of clothes
in a black gym bag read: ''[Expletive] you. Stay the [expletive] out of my
bag you [expletive] sucker. Have you found a [expletive] bomb yet? No, just
clothes. Am I right? Yea, so [expletive] you.'' 

Socha only spoke to answer ''yes'' to Judge Albert Conlon when he asked the
teenager if he would like to be represented by a court-appointed lawyer. 

Socha, who has no previous record, was released on $1,000 surety. Socha's
shirt remained over his face as he left the courthouse with his family. They
all declined to comment on the allegations. 

According to the police report, when he was confronted by State Police,
Socha told his parents, ''I can explain this. I wrote a note in my bag
asking if there was a bomb in it and telling them to stay out.'' There were
no other delays at the airport due to the alleged threat, said Davis, and
the United flight departed from Logan on schedule. 

''There was no commotion whatsoever,'' Davis said. ''But when [we] see the
word `bomb,' we take it very seriously. In today's security environment,
there's no room for that sort of joking.'' 

David A. Procopio, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's
Office, said in the months after Sept. 11, 2001, a number of bomb hoaxes
occurred at the airport, but now have become more sporadic with the passing
of time. 

''Putting a false bomb threat in your luggage is not something we take
lightly,'' Procopio said. ''In the current climate, it's just unacceptable
because of the fear and panic it causes.'' 

Ruth E. Ryan, a neighbor of the Socha family, said by phone yesterday that
the Sochas are a ''nice family.'' 

''I'm surprised,'' Ryan said. ''I thought he was a good kid.'' 

Socha is due back in court on Sept. 26 for a pretrial conference.


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