Man about to board international flight joked that he had a 'bomb' when asked if he had any lithium batteries: Police

Inset: Yoel Guevara-Crespo (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation). Background: Miami International Airport in Miami, Fla. (Google Maps).

A Florida man allegedly told airline employees that he had a "bomb" while trying to board an international flight, then later defended it as a joke.

Yoel Guevara-Crespo, 33, was arrested on Monday after police charged him with making a false report about a bomb. According to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, Guevara-Crespo was preparing to board an American Airlines flight to Camagüey, Cuba, when a ticket agent asked him a set of standard security questions. One of those questions, whether he was carrying any lithium batteries or incendiary devices, allegedly elicited an alarming response.

Police said Guevara-Crespo told the ticket agent, "No, but I have a bomb."

According to the affidavit, the ticket agent told Guevara-Crespo that he would not be allowed to board the flight and she would be contacting her supervisor. Guevara-Crespo told the agent "he was joking."

Miami-Dade County sheriff's deputies working for the Airport Operations Bureau were dispatched to the gate where the flight to Cuba was boarding. They took Guevara-Crespo into custody without incident. A K-9 unit checked Guevara-Crespo's luggage, which did not yield positive results for a bomb. The American Airlines gate was eventually cleared to resume normal operations.

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Guevara-Crespo was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after being charged. He posted $2,500 bond and was released on Wednesday. His next court date was not yet scheduled. According to online court records, he was ordered to stay away from Miami International Airport.