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$1 million bond for Jacksonville airport bomb scare suspect

Posted at 6:57 PM, Oct 02, 2013
and last updated 2013-10-02 18:57:30-04

By CNN Staff

(CNN) — A judge set bond at more than $1 million Wednesday for a man who said, falsely, that he had a bomb at Florida’s Jacksonville International Airport.

Zeljko Causevic, 39, is charged with one count of making a false report about planting a bomb, and one count of manufacturing, possessing, selling or delivering a “hoax bomb,” according to Jacksonville Aviation Authority spokesman Michael Stewart.

He was arrested at the airport, which was evacuated late Tuesday as a result of the scare.

The suspect appeared in court Wednesday. He wore a green jumpsuit and did not speak as the judge set his bond and next court appearance — October 23.

There was no immediate public statement by an attorney on Causevic’s behalf.

According to the FBI, authorities had first feared that a larger plot was under way.

“The confluence of these three events in a short time frame suggested perhaps a larger plot was unfolding, and made necessary a significant response to evaluate the situation as a whole,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday.

The first event involved Causevic at a security checkpoint, where he indicated his bag contained a bomb.

The second event unfolded when police approached a male suspect, who grew defensive and dropped a bag he was carrying. It was later determined that he had no connection to the initial threat. The man was arrested on unrelated charged, the FBI said in its statement.

The third event involved a disruptive passenger on an out-bound flight. No arrests were made in that case, and it was also determined not to have anything to do with the other two incidents, the FBI said.

After the airport was evacuated, some arriving flights were diverted and some passengers who were on planes that had already landed were taken to hotels.

Hours later, officials issued an all-clear.

“We erred on the side of caution in terms of doing whatever’s necessary to make sure that everybody is safe,” said Stewart.

CNN’s Dana Ford, Josh Levs, Joe Sutton, Dave Alsup and Rich Phillips contributed to this report.

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