Charges Reduced in Airliner Security Breach
From Times Wire Reports
Prosecutors have reduced the charges against a college student accused of hiding box cutters on four jetliners last year to expose weaknesses in airport security.
Nathaniel Heatwole, 20, was originally charged with taking a dangerous weapon aboard an aircraft, a felony that carries up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors reduced the charge to bringing banned items into a passenger-screening area, a misdemeanor, court records show. The offense carries up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
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