{media number=1 align=left}{/media}Reality seemed to imitate the script of Homeland on New Year’s Eve when a Green Beret allegedly attempted to board an American Airlines flight at Midland International Airport with C-4 explosives tucked away in his carry-on luggage.
Police arrested Trey Scott Atwater, 30, after the explosives were discovered during a security screening. He told investigators he regularly used C-4 explosives in demolition work while deployed, wrote Nathanial Miller of the Odessa American. When Atwater returned from deployment, he said that “he had put his bags in his garage and did not remember any C-4 being in them and used the bag to put his children’s items in.” (Atwater, who is stationed at Fort Bragg, returned from his third deployment to Afghanistan in April.)
But, the first sergeant had another run-in with airport security on Christmas Eve, when a smoke grenade was found in his luggage, Miller wrote.
Charles Winstead, Atwater’s childhood friend, told CBS 7 News that Atwater was a good patriot. “He was all about country first . . . He believed in The United States of America and the flag,” he said. “As we find out about what actually happened and what the details were I’m sure it’ll shed some light and ease a lot of people.”
Bruce Moore, Atwater’s former neighbor, told the station that Atwater was a member of Midland Lee High School’s 1999 state championship football team. Atwater has two sons and his mother lives in Midland, according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram.
Atwater is due to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Counts for an arraignment hearing on Tuesday, according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram.
