Official: Man says he opened door at JKF airport by mistake

NEW YORK (AP) — The man returning from Haiti who walked through a restricted door and set off an alarm that led to the evacuation of a busy terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport told police he went through the door by mistake, an official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the case against the Brooklyn man and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The security breach Saturday afternoon delayed dozens of flights and caused headaches for hundreds of travelers who had to exit the terminal and wait for hours while police swept through the building. Passengers were then re-screened by Transportation Security Administration officers. The incident comes less than two weeks after another security breach at nearby Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

Jules Paul Bouloute, 57, was scheduled to make his first court appearance Sunday on charges including first-degree criminal tampering and third-degree criminal trespass, said Helen Peterson, a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney. Bouloute faces up to seven years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.

Prosecutors allege that he went through a door that was clearly marked as restricted.

“As a result of the defendant’s actions, thousands of people were required to evacuate and to be re-screened by TSA, causing substantial delays in the airlines’ schedules,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Browne in a statement.

The Queens district attorney’s office didn’t immediately know who would be representing Bouloute in the case. The man’s home phone number was unlisted, and there was no answer at his door, in a Brooklyn neighborhood where many Haitians live.