VA bomb threat only "a joke" man said

Courthouse bomb threat suspect charged; capture took only an hour


By Matt Snyder
Herald Staff Writer

MERCER COUNTY —
Only 60 minutes after a Hermitage man allegedly phoned a bomb threat into Mercer County’s Veterans Affairs office, sheriff’s deputies had the courthouse evacuated and the man in custody, said Jeff Greenburg, county public information chief.


According to deputies, Ronald E. Garrett, 61, of 902 Biscayne Road, called the courthouse at 3 p.m. and confirmed with a secretary that he was speaking to the veterans affairs office. Sheriff’s deputies said he asked, “Is there a bomb in your building?”

Then Garrett hung up, deputies said.

Chief Deputy Gary Hartman tried calling the number back several times, receiving a garbled male voice, deputies said. Then, the 911 Center traced the number.

At 3:20 p.m., the courthouse was evacuated.

The 911 Center told sheriff’s deputies that Garrett owns the cell phone which was used to call the courthouse. They also said 911 was called 13 times in the past with the same phone, deputies said.

Deputies went to Garrett’s house. Meanwhile, Garrett also told a deputy who called him that he had a score to settle with the federal Veterans Administration office and that he was in the VA office’s parking lot in Hermitage. He mumbled something about a gun, deputies said.
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