Maryland man admits to six 'bottle bomb' stunts at movie theaters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Maryland man pleaded guilty on Friday to charges that he caused panic in a movie theater with a "bottle bomb" attack, and he admitted to carrying out five similar stunts in the region, prosecutors said. Manuel Joyner-Bell, 20, has been held without bail since his arrest in May following a spate of bottle bomb incidents that frightened hundreds of movie patrons in Maryland and neighboring Virginia that month and in April. He pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of possession of a destructive device, second degree assault, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to use a destructive device, Angela Alsobrooks, the state's attorney in Prince George's County, Maryland, said in a statement. "Mr. Bell committed these acts in six different movie theaters across our region in an attempt to cause widespread fear and panic because he enjoyed seeing the terror people showed as they fled the theaters," Alsobrooks said. Bell was charged in connection with one bottle bomb attack at an AMC Magic Johnson Capital Center 12 theater in Largo, Maryland, but he admitted to all six bottle bombings at movie theaters in Maryland and neighboring Virginia, prosecutors said. The Bowie, Maryland, man is held without bail at the Prince George's County correctional facility. He will be sentenced on March 5 and faces up to 21 years in prison. Bell will then face extradition to Virginia to face charges for similar incidents, according to Alsobrooks' office. No one was seriously hurt in the bottle bomb attacks, which drew a response from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to assist in the investigation. (Reporting by John Clarke in Washington. Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Andre Grenon)