ONT gate crasher had past arrests

Article Published: Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 8:25:59 PM PST The Daily Bulletin By WILL MATTHEWS STAFF WRITER

RIVERSIDE — A Riverside man who was arrested last year at Ontario International Airport for allegedly making remarks about a bomb was arrested Wednesday by the FBI after driving his car through a military barricade at March Air Reserve Base.

Eid Elwirelwir, 26, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Venezuela, drove through a coiled-wire barricade designed to restrict traffic from a road leading to a closed, gated entrance to the base, authorities say.

Elwirelwir then proceeded to crash into a locked chain link fence blocking entrance to the base.

Elwirelwir was not injured and was initially taken into custody by Marine Corps sentries guarding the gate.

According to an FBI criminal complaint, Elwirelwir expressed numerous anti-American sentiments and said he believed he had been oppressed by America because he was Muslim.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley said Thursday that Elwirelwir was picked up at his home Wednesday by members of the FBI's joint terrorism task force and charged with destruction of government property.

In February 2002, Elwirelwir was arrested at ONT after security screeners there said he mentioned a bomb in his shoe.

He was arrested by airport police for making a false bomb threat at a screening checkpoint.

Elwirelwir became irate after being arrested and told police he had simply asked screeners whether they thought he had a bomb in his shoe.

Michael Martinez, a deputy district attorney in San Bernardino County, said Thursday that after reviewing the case he declined to press charges against Elwirelwir, believing it to fall more within federal jurisdiction than local jurisdiction.

Martinez said he passed the case on to the U.S. Attorney's Office in both Los Angeles and Riverside after discussing it with officials there and with the FBI.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said Thursday that no charges were filed by his office against Elwirelwir in relation to the ONT incident.

He declined to say why no charges were filed.

Bosley said Thursday she was not aware of any previous incident involving Elwirelwir, and said no federal charges had ever been pressed against him.

She said the FBI was not investigating this week's incident in Riverside as terrorist-related.

"He certainly made some anti-American statements, but he has the right to do that," Bosley said. "There is a pending investigation and anything is possible, but at this point there is just the one charge."

Will Matthews can be reached by e-mail w_matthews@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9333.