UPDATED: Haymarket man charged in bomb threat at Prince William courthouse complex
Police have charged a Haymarket man with making threats to bomb the Prince William County courthouse and jail.
At 1:53 p.m. Thursday, the suspect entered the lobby with a bag he immediately brought to a restroom, Prince William County police Master Officer Renee Carr said in a release.
He then called emergency services and falsely reported a bomb threat to the complex, which includes the Prince William-Manassas regional jail and adjoining courthouse, Carr said.
Jail staff made contact with the man in the lobby, where responding officers determined he was intoxicated and took him into custody, she said.
The courthouse and the jail adjusted operation status as a precaution while a police K-9 and members of the Virginia State Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit responded and determined the bag was not a bomb, Carr said.
Police charged Ray Darnell Smith, 30, of Youngs Drive in Haymarket with threats to bomb, obstruction of justice and intoxicated in public, she said. He was held without bond at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail.
Carr said Smith’s mugshot was not available.