California Crime and Courts

Palm Springs police say a 30-year-old U.S. Marine, Ryan Weaver of Henderson, Texas, was detained Monday at Palm Springs International Airport after TSA screeners found what bomb technicians later confirmed was a live 25mm explosive round in his checked luggage. The Marine allegedly told officers he had found the ordnance in a field about a year earlier and kept it, believing it was inert; heavy rust and missing paint markings made it hard to distinguish from a training round. Riverside County’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team used X-ray equipment to determine the round was live, removed it from the airport, and destroyed it in a desert area near Gene Autry Trail south of I-10. Weaver was released to Marine Corps authorities, and police say the case will be sent to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for possible charges under California’s destructive-device law, with additional administrative action by the Corps and a potential TSA civil penalty on the table. The episode underscores ongoing concerns about unsecured military ordnance and aviation security, as even a single missed item of live munitions in checked baggage could have catastrophic consequences in flight.