Trial of "false bomb" designer adjourned
Dezeen Wire: the trail of Brooklyn designer Takeshi Miyakawa, who was arrested for "planting false bombs" while assembling an outdoor lighting installation in New York, has been adjourned.
Under the terms of the ACD (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal) ruling on 19 July, Miyakawa will walk free as long as he stays out of trouble for the next six months. He has also been ordered to serve ten days of community service.
"Last Thursday, I went to court and the judge accepted A.C.D. (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal) with ten days of community service as recommended by the prosecution," says Miyakawa. "Now I feel relieved that this issue has been resolved and I don't have to go to court anymore. All that's left is for me to stay out of trouble for 6 months!"
Miyakawa was arrested in New York City during the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in May while hanging light sculptures inspired by the I LOVE NY plastic shopping bags in trees and on lamp posts. Police suspected Miyakawa was a terrorist.
Miyakawa was held at Rikers Island prison for three nights and sent for a pscychological evaluation, despite the NYPD bomb squad establishing that the lights were not life-threatening.
A Facebook campaign for his release attracted over 3,500 members and architect Rafael Viñoly, for whom Miyakawa previously worked, wrote a character reference for his court appearance.
Read our earlier story about Miyakawa's arrest | Read the New York Times' report