Charges dropped against man with IED watch

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OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- An advertising executive arrested at a California airport for wearing a watch with wires, fuses and a toggle switch won't face charges, his attorney said.

Douglas Horngrad told the San Francisco Chronicle that Alameda County prosecutors have declined to file charges against his client, 49-year-old Geoffrey McGann of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

McGann was arrested after he put his watch through an X-ray scanning machine at Oakland County Airport.

In addition to the watch, McGann was wearing a shirt with built-in tourniquets and oversize UGG boots that had hollow compartments in the soles to make him look taller, authorities said.

"Just because someone can make an artsy watch which looks like a timing switch for an IED, doesn't mean it's smart or logical to try to bring it on a plane," said Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.

McGann is a prominent advertising writer and executive who gained fame creating ads for Nike, Subaru and other companies.