Two Gravesend fraudsters avoid prison

Man denies planting fake gallery bomb

by Court Reporter Thursday, April 26, 2012
2:12 PM

A Tottenham man has denied planting a fake bomb in the National Gallery.

Joey Owen, 21, allegedly left the object at the art museum in Trafalgar Square, on October 12 last year.

Prosecutors claim the hoax bomb was made of a “battery with a circuit board and flashing LED light and wiring” and Owen, of Willoughby Lane, intended to “induce in another a belief that the said article was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property”.

Defence counsel Guy Ladenburg said Owen claimed the device recovered by gallery staff was a phone charger.

Owen, who denied one count of placing an article with intent, has been bailed ahead of his trial on September 17 at Southwark Crown Court.