Man Pleads Not Guilty In Military Recruiting Center Bomb Plot

BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) -- A man accused of plotting to kill military personnel with a car bomb pleaded not guilty Friday.

Antonio Martinez appeared in U.S. District Court for an arraignment at 10 a.m. He pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of a federal officer and to possession of a weapon of mass destruction. 

Martinez came into court with a smile. No family was present.

Martinez, 21, was caught in an FBI sting operation.

Court documents show he expressed a desire to attack a military recruiting center in Catonsville and was given a phony bomb by an undercover agent. He was arrested after he tried to detonate the device.

Martinez is a recent convert to Islam and prefers to be addressed as Muhammad Hussain. His attorney has argued that Martinez was entrapped by the FBI and that agents planted the idea for the bomb plot in his mind.

He faces up to life in prison if convicted. A next court date was not set.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)