Authorities evacuated the San Benito County Courthouse for an
hour Monday while agents searched the building after 911 dispatch
received a threat of a bomb in the building.
Authorities evacuated the San Benito County Courthouse for an hour Monday while agents searched the building after 911 dispatch received a threat of a bomb in the building.
An unknown male called 911 at 12:35 and made the threat from a business phone at Nash Road Mini-mart, to which police responded and found no suspects, according to sheriff’s Lt. Pat Turturici.
Afterward, police made no arrests, and investigators could not decipher the caller’s approximate age, Turturici said. The Hollister Police Department holds jurisdiction over the convenience store and will continue the investigation.
Eight officers from the Sheriff’s Department and county Marshal’s Office conducted the search, Turturici said, including inspections throughout the Marshal’s Office, court rooms and other county offices.
“We did a sweep of the building to see if there was any unusual packages,” said Turturici, casually dressed after being interrupted from a lunch-hour workout.
Approximately 20 to 30 county employees evacuated the building, along with attorneys and others scheduled for court appearances early Monday afternoon.
The county maintains an emergency escape plan that is used in such circumstances, according to Marshal Robert Scattini. Employees evacuated the building and met one another across the street.
Although most bomb threats turn up no explosives, Turturici said authorities take such warnings seriously, especially in light of the national anxiety over terrorism.
“After the Oklahoma City bombing, any time you get government offices threatened, it’s a very serious threat to us,” he said.
Scattini, who oversees enforcement of the local court system, said the courthouse receives a bomb threat every one or two years.
Still, he worries every time, he said, “Because you never know; you can’t think it’s a joke because it just may not be.”
In 1996, someone tossed a flaming bottle through a window at the District Attorney’s Office. Although nobody was hurt, the structure burned to the ground. It was later re-built at the same location on the corner of Fourth and Monterey streets.
On March 7 of this year, someone called in a bomb threat to the District Attorney’s Office, leaving a message on an answering machine. The next day, police arrested Hollister resident Richard Poe, who had left his name on the message.
Anyone with information about the bomb threat should call the Hollister Police Department at 636-4330.
