Bail set at $200,000 for subway defendant

NEW YORK (AP) — Bail was set at $200,000 Sunday for a homeless man from West Virginia who was charged with placing two devices that looked like pressure cookers in a New York City subway station.

Larry Kenton Griffin II of Bruno, W. Va., appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court before Judge Keisha Espinal, who set the bail and ordered Griffin to return to court Friday.

A message seeking comment was left with Griffin’s lawyer, Michael Croce.

The court appearance came a day after Griffin’s arrest and two days after Friday morning’s commute was disrupted by a police investigation that began after two large cooking pots were spotted at Manhattan’s Fulton subway station.

The incident inconvenienced thousands of commuters who use multiple subway lines that converge at the busy station next to the World Trade Center site, where a heavy police presence exists during every busy morning or evening commute since the Sept. 11 attacks.

The 26-year-old Griffin was charged with two counts of placing a false bomb. He was arrested Saturday in the Bronx after photographs of Griffin and the pots were distributed widely by law enforcement authorities.

A criminal complaint said Griffin knew the pots “would appear to be a bomb, destructive device, explosive and hazardous substance under circumstances in which it was likely to cause public alarm and inconvenience.”