Man arrested in Towson toilet incident
County police have arrested and charged Duane G. Davis with leaving a toilet - festooned with newspaper clippings, an electronic transmitter and a cell phone — outside the historic Baltimore County courthouse Monday morning, triggering a police reaction that included a bomb-sniffing dog and a small robot.
Though there did not appear to be any threats of violence or indications that the toilet was intended to be perceived as a possible bomb, Davis has been charged with having a "phoney [sic] destruction device" and "false statement - destruction device." He's being held on $200,000 bond, records show.
The Sun's June Torbati reported today that Monday's incident shows how vigilant security officials and the public have become on potential threats, said Ellen Cornelius, a law and policy analyst with the University of Maryland's Center for Health and Homeland Security. "I think people have become more aware, and there have been effective public awareness campaigns" by governments.
We'll have more on this later on line and in print. Here is a copy of the police charging document so you can decide for yourself what crimes he allegedly committed:
Comments
What a joke, don't the police have anything better to do? This is simply a littering charge. Why don't they arrest the hoodlums that walk around selling drugs in the city huh? Or maybe the do a real investigation of the 200+ murders in Baltimore city from last year? Heck, with that many murders in Maryland why have we not seen more death penalty cases? Oh right, these people can be rehabilitated, sorry for over stepping my boundaries.
Posted by: Phillip | February 8, 2011 1:20 PM
Phillip, I must agree with you. Except that the murder count of 200+ (just under 300!) is just for Balt City! Unfortunately, the terrorists have had a "partial win"; as we are so paranoid about a toilet on the Courthouse steps, that the bomb squad is called in...
FYI, the murder count was 223 in 2010, not just "just under" 300. -JF
Posted by: John | February 8, 2011 3:21 PM
it is not a joke Phillip, and yes you are stepping over your boundaries, the crime took place in Baltimore County not crime city. Baltimore county has one of the lowest murder rates and yes baltimore county has put the most death penalty cases on death row. you do the crime and you pay the crime hard in baltimore county not like crime city.
Posted by: lee | February 8, 2011 3:38 PM
Phillip, guess you don't get out much. This stunt could have been part of a more tragic story. Thank God, it was just another crazy. But it sounds like you have a lot of the answers. Why not join the Police and be part of the solution instead of just bs'ing off.
Posted by: ruth | February 8, 2011 3:54 PM
whats crazy is his bail, this is a gross over reaction, and knowing this individual by reputation this isn't his first account of poking the elephant in the room, BUT hey, I think its healthy for someone to make a statement beyoooond the internet, especially since its technically public property, and it was defiantly not a bomb
Posted by: liz | February 13, 2011 7:29 PM