Bomb threat at Ponce de Leon City Hall - update

Arkansas man ‘a person of interest’ in the case

PONCE DE LEON – When the mail arrived yesterday afternoon at Ponce de Leon City Hall there was something very different…a strange-looking package.

The battered box was covered with Purple Heart stamps and had a Little Rock, AK return address. City staff quickly called the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, and thus began a chain of events that will probably include a federal investigation.

“We thought it was a suspicious package, and the (federal) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms thought it looked suspicious,” said Holmes County Sheriff Dennis Lee. The Bay County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad soon arrived. The unit’s robot entered City Hall, removed the package and the package was X-rayed.

The package was picked up at the Post Office shortly after noon and the call to dispatch was at 12:37pm.

A beer can and an energy drink can stuffed with copper wire were found inside the box, and on the outside was the return address “Curtis Clay Jr., No. Little Rock, AR.” The package was addressed to “The City of Ponce De Leon, City Park, c/o City Hall Recycle Program.”

Lee confirmed that an Arkansas man with a reported history of making terrorist threats is “a person of interest” in the case. He said that due to the box being delivered by the U.S. Postal Service he expects federal authorities to join the investigation.

Lee expressed his thanks to the bomb squad, BATF, the Ponce De Leon Volunteer Fire Department, HCSO and Holmes County EMS for their assistance.

The following news release was sent Friday afternoon by Holmes County Sheriff's Office

On September 25, 2008 the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office responded to the City Hall in Ponce de Leon after receiving a call concerning a suspicious package. Deputies that responded to the call agreed that the package could contain some type of explosive device, immediately evacuated the building and set up a perimeter.

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) was contacted and responded to the scene along with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad. A remote control robot belonging to the bomb squad entered the building and x-rays of the packages were obtained. The package was later determined to be non-threatening with its contents consisting of aluminum cans stuffed with copper wire. The package was addressed to “The City of Ponce De Leon, City Park, c/o City Hall Recycle Program.”

The package did not contain any explosive materials or any type of written message. The Sheriff’s Office is working with the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office on following up with the investigation. An Arkansas man is “a person of interest” in the case. At this time there is no known link between the “person of interest” and the City of Ponce de Leon or its employees.

Sheriff Dennis Lee would like to express his thanks to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad, ATF, the Ponce de Leon VFD, and Holmes County EMS for their assistance.