Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Bombs uncovered after word of threats
Police arrest Falmouth man
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FALMOUTH — Police found pipe bombs Tuesday in the sports utility vehicle of a man accused of threatening to blow up the Pendleton County Courthouse and kill a judge.
Daniel Justice, 33, of Falmouth was charged with terroristic threatening. He was being held in the Pendleton County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bond.
“He had made threats to injure judges or people at the courthouse,” Pendleton County Attorney Don Wells said.
Authorities found two homemade bombs in a bag in his Pathfinder on Tuesday. The Cincinnati Bomb Squad and agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) detonated the devices, made of PVC pipe and containing a powder, BBs, fish hooks and lead sinkers.
“He could have killed as many as 15 to 20 people with each bomb,” Pendleton County Constable Pete Samples said. Many more could have been hurt by the shrapnel, he said.
An informant told Mr. Samples on Monday that Mr. Justice planned to attack the courthouse and kill Pendleton District Judge David Melcher. Authorities arrested Mr. Justice on Monday night.
On Tuesday afternoon, authorities began searching Mr. Justice's home. During the search, his wife, Debbie Justice, drove up in the sports utility vehicle, where police found the pipe bombs inside a duffel bag.
Mrs. Justice told authorities she did not know the bombs were in the vehicle. She was charged with illegal possession of an explosive device.
The ATF will decide what federal charges might be brought.
The alleged threats stemmed from wanton endangerment charges against Mr. Justice after he allegedly rammed his car into another vehicle, Mr. Samples said.
Mr. Samples said Mr. Justice threatened to kill the person whose car he rammed to elimi nate a witness and to “blow up the courthouse.”
Mr. Justice was scheduled to appear in Pendleton District Court on Tuesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing on those charges but came before Judge Melcher earlier in the day on the terroristic threatening charge.
“Sure it's unusual,” Judge Melcher said. “It's something you don't want to happen around a court system.
“When it does, you've got to do the appropriate things. You never know what's in somebody's mind. You have no idea what would motivate someone to do that.”
The courthouse has no metal detectors or other security, but that could change, Judge Melcher said. “I think it should cause some people to consider doing something different. Unfortunately, the time maybe has come.”
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