Air Traffic Controller Charged With Possession Of a WMD

Bryan Michalek | November 13, 2017
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An air traffic controller from the Charlotte-Douglass International Airport and his accomplice were arrested last Friday on the charges of possessing a weapon of mass destruction. 

The air traffic controller, Paul George Dandan, 30, was hit with multiple charges after acquiring the weapon, including possession, acquisition, and transportation of a WMD, according to WNCT9.

Dandan is reported to have received a homemade pipe bomb from his roommate, Derrick Fells, 39, who admitted to making the bomb with the idea that he would "use it against a neighbor" with whom he had been disputing.

The authorities official report claims that the Fells "changed his mind" and gave the bomb to Dandan. Fells was handed three counts of manufacturing a weapon of mass destruction and another count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

According to WCNC, Dandan is being held in the Mecklenburg County Jail on a $45,000 bond. While the FBI is assisting the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police with the investigation, there isn't a high likelihood that federal charges will be filed against Dandan or Fells. 

Dandan was arrested after CMPD officers responded to a 911 call on Nov. 3 about an individual who had a homemade explosive. Upon receiving the tip, CMPD's bomb squad arrived on scene and confirmed that the device was a homemade pipe bomb. 

The FAA confirmed to NBC Charlotte that Dandan's access to the airport has been officially restricted after his arrest last Friday.

This apparently isn't Dandan's first run-in with the law, as he'd previously been arrested and charged with an assault of a female.

According to HG.org, WMD's are defined "as those devices capable of extensive destruction when deployed in a manner intended to destroy large numbers of people." 

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