Ex-Marine caught with smoke grenades, weapons at Columbia airport sentenced to year in prison

A former U.S. Marine found last fall trying to board an airplane at Columbia Metropolitan Airport with smoke grenades and other weapons has been sentenced to a year in prison.

David Lee Angell, 51, was sentenced Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paige Gossett after Angell pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly entering an airport in violation of security requirements, according to court records. The offense is a misdemeanor.

Angell was stopped at the Columbia airport security checkpoint on his way to Oregon Oct. 27, 2022, according to a complaint in the case. Airport officers then discovered the prohibited weapons during a routine screening of his carry-on bag, the complaint said.

“A search of his carry-on revealed that he was carrying three smoke grenades, one set of plastic stun knuckles, three stun batons, two knives, and two cans of capsaicin spray (pepper spray) in his carry-on bag. All of these items are prohibited from being in a passenger’s carry-on baggage,” a South Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office press release said.

Angell had prior convictions for carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, possession of a dangerous weapon, burglary and resisting a public officer, the press release said.

At the time of his arrest, Angell told police that he didn’t know those explosives and other weapons were prohibited, the complaint said.

Angell has been detained since his arrest, and the last six months will count toward his one-year prison sentence. His sentence will be followed by a one-year term of court-ordered supervision, the South Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The federal prosecutor handling the case was Elle Klein. Angell’s defense attorney, a public defender, was Mark McLawhorn.