Police Charge Suspect With Planting Fake Bombs After Subway Rice Cooker Scare
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police have arrested the suspect connected to abandoned rice cookers that set off a bomb scare in Manhattan this week.
That man is now charged with three counts of placing false bombs.
The 911 call came in as a suspected overdose early Saturday morning in the Bronx.
UPDATE-The below individual has been located and the investigation continues. Thank you to all who called in tips as well as our federal partners who as ALWAYS stand by our side @NewYorkFBI @ATFNewYork @NYCTSubway @NYPDDCPI @NYPDnews pic.twitter.com/bmIldU8ahd
— Chief Kenneth Corey (@NYPDChiefOfDept) August 17, 2019
In video taken around 1 a.m. by a neighbor, the patient appears unconscious coming out of the Morrisania apartment building.
Law enforcement sources and neighbors identified him as 26-year-old Larry Griffin. His photos were widely circulated by the NYPD as a person on interest in the case.
His abandoned rice cookers caused confusion and fear at an MTA subway station Friday.
Neighbors say he moved to New York in May from West Virginia to live with a friend. He reportedly had no job and spent much of his time outside grabbing things out of the trash.
"He collects stuff off the street, pots, bikes, all kinds of stuff," a neighbor told CBS2's Dave Carlin.
"We see him collecting junk, carrying stuff," Felix Aponte added.
"He can just go up the block and come back with stuff in his hand. I walked right into the building, goes by without it, keeps walking, he doesn't associate with anybody."
Police say the motive is unknown for why the cookers were placed at the Fulton Street subway station, causing one train to be evacuated while other trains skipped the station.
A short time later, a third rice cooker was located in a Chelsea neighborhood garbage can.
Police found all three devices were empty and not dangerous.
"Looking back on it, it was harmless," NYPD officials said.
A West Virginia sheriff's department says Griffin has a criminal history there with charges that include possession of a controlled substance and use of obscene material to seduce a minor.