Bowie Man Pleads Guilty in Movie Theater Bottle Bombing

A Bowie man pleaded guilty pleaded guilty Dec. 12 to detonating a bottle bomb in a movie theater court for an incident pertaining to his arrest on May 31.

Manuel Joyner-Bell Jr., 21, was arrested on May 31 and accused of manufacture/possession/detonation of a destructive device that occurred at the Magic Johnson Movie Theatre in Largo. He is also accused of similar incidents in other theaters in Maryland and northern Virginia.

Prosecutors said that Joyner mixed acid and metal in a bottle that would explode on impact. Charging documents report that at about 1:40 p.m. May 24 during X-Men: Days of Future Past, a witness saw an arm throw the bottle over a wall. The bottle exploded and the theater was evacuated.

Similar bottle bombing incidents occurred in five theaters on six occasions between March and May. During those incidents 300 moviegoers were evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Authorities say that Joyner confessed to those incidents after his arrest, The Washington Post reports.

Joyner was convicted of 11 counts and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a destructive device in Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties in court on Friday, according to the Post. The charges include possession of a destructive device, six counts of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and conspiracy to use a destructive device.

Joyner will be sentenced March 8.

Photo Credit: Prince George’s County Fire Department

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