A 21-year-old Marine stationed in Twentynine Palms with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, who tried to bring live military ordnance onto a plane at Palm Springs International Airport pleaded guilty Wednesday, October 18, to possession of an explosive device. Steven Corey Vella will to be sentenced March 19 on his plea to one felony count of unlawfully possessing a destructive or explosive device in a prohibited area and a misdemeanor count of possessing a prohibited item at an airport. Court documents say Vella tried to board a March 4 flight from Palm Springs to New York with ground burst simulators, smoke grenades, a dummy hand grenade, and an inert mortar body The items were found in Vella’s luggage by TSA personnel. Vella was initially given a misdemeanor citation and released, and remains free on $10,000 bail pending sentencing.
