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Disneyland Dry Ice Bomber Banned From Happiest Place On Earth

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A former Disneyland worker who admitted to setting off two dry ice bombs in Toontown last May will be serving time in jail and is banned from the park.

Christian Barnes, 23, of Long Beach could have faced six years in prison for a felony "possession of a destructive device in a public place," according to City News Service. Instead he plead guilty to "possession of a destructive device," which is a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to three months in prison, 100 hours of community service and he has been ordered to stay 100 yards away from Disneyland. Nobody was injured in the explosion, though it jarred park-goers and prompted evacuations in Toontown.

The dry ice bombs that Barnes created were simply dry ice left in a plastic bottle. One bomb went off in the vending cart where Barnes had been working around 4 p.m. on May 28. Barnes left another one in a trash can that went off while a custodian was emptying it.

Dry ice bombs can explode when the pressure from carbon dioxide builds up. The explosion itself isn't dangerous, but victims can be injured from flying shrapnel. (A man working at a liquor store back in 1992 was killed by a dry ice bomb made with a glass bottle—the glass slit his throat.)

No one was injured in either explosion.

Recently, an airline worker at LAX planted a few dry ice bombs as a prank, he said.

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