Disneyland worker charged in dry ice explosions is ‘cooperating’
Orange County prosecutors charged a 22-year-old Disneyland employee Thursday with possessing a destructive device in a public place in connection with two “dry ice” bomb blasts in the theme park’s Toontown area.
If convicted, Christian Barnes faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, half of what he was held on when he was first booked by Anaheim police investigators.
He is expected to plead not guilty when he makes his first court appearance Thursday afternoon in Orange County Superior Court.
The Orange County district attorney’s office says the first dry ice explosion took place about 4 p.m. Tuesday outside Toontown shortly after Barnes was ending his shift and a colleague was taking over the vending cart with drinks.
Several minutes later, Barnes is accused of taking a second water bottle from the cart and walking toward the employee break room. While passing through Toontown, Barnes allegedly placed a second water bottle with dry ice in a trash can before leaving the area.
No one was seriously hurt in either blast, although authorities said some people complained about ringing in their ears.
Nonetheless, the explosions caused anxious moments in Toontown, which features Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and other attractions aimed at youngsters.
“Barnes is cooperating with investigators and has indicated this is an isolated incident with unanticipated impacts,” Anaheim Police Sgt. Bob Dunn said after the arrest Wednesday morning.
Neither Barnes, who was in custody and not available for comment, nor immediate members of his family commented on the incident. In his North Long Beach neighborhood Wednesday, one neighbor described Barnes as a “good kid.”
“This is a good family and a good neighborhood,” said the woman, who declined to comment further.
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