Suspicious Mail Prompts Charles Courthouse Evacuation
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 12, 2007; Page SM03
Authorities evacuated the Charles County Courthouse in La Plata on Monday after a courthouse employee and a sheriff's deputy discovered two suspicious letters, one of which was opened and found to contain a white powder and a letter making a bomb threat.
The envelope containing the powder, which was later determined not to be harmful, was opened at 11:48 a.m., authorities said. Courthouse security immediately blocked entry to the building as employees and visitors were evacuated, some to the adjacent County Government Building.
Some of those evacuated were allowed to leave by car before authorities secured the parking lot and deployed a canine bomb detection unit to search the remaining vehicles. Portions of Charles Street and Washington Avenue abutting the courthouse were also closed.
"Basically, all of a sudden we heard sirens outside and people came through the building ordering us to get out," said Paula Brault, who was in the building for a court case.
At least five employees were decontaminated after exposure to the substance and taken from the area in an ambulance, according to Maj. Joseph C. Montminy Jr., spokesman for the Charles County Sheriff's Office.
"I felt like we had a strong response today," said Sheriff Rex W. Coffey (D). "The good thing about it is we don't get a lot of these incidents. Most of the time, these turn out to be nothing, but we have to be ready for the one time it is something."
When the hazardous materials team emerged from the courthouse at 3:15 p.m. with the two envelopes, the bomb detection unit was sent inside to search every room. Shortly after 4 p.m., the building was given an all-clear for entry, and the roads were reopened.
The U.S. Postal Service will handle further testing of the material in the letters and determine what criminal process will be pursued.
Shutting down the courthouse halted normal business there for half the day.
"All I wanted to do was come in here to file a document," Charles Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II (D-Waldorf), who is also a lawyer, said with a chuckle as he waited for the building to be searched. "Fortunately, a clerk took it and assured me it would be done. This whole day turned into something completely different than what was expected."
On Tuesday morning, the courthouse reopened without incident. Authorities have not identified any suspects in the case. Final results of tests at the Postal Service crime lab will not be available for some time, said Kristen Timko, the spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.
