Man Brings Bomb To Bonner Courthouse

The Bonner County Courthouse was closed and cordoned off after a man brought an explosive device into the sheriff’s office Sunday afternoon.

The man, whom authorities declined to identify, claimed someone had placed a bomb in his home to try to kill him.

The homemade device apparently failed to explode, so the man put it in a plastic bucket and brought it to the Sheriff’s Department around 2 p.m.

“Part of it is definitely a bomb,” Bonner County Sheriff Chip Roos said.

Roos described it as a black-powder bomb that appeared to have been lighted but the fuse burned out. The device was connected to another container with a couple of digital watches attached to it, Roos said.

“We don’t know what else is in there,” Roos said of the device, part of which was obscured by the plastic bucket.

A bomb squad from Spokane was called to the courthouse and removed the device about 7 p.m. It was taken to a gravel pit in the county where it will be taken apart for evidence or exploded, Roos said.

After authorities decided the package likely was a bomb, the courthouse parking lot was emptied and cordoned off.

Roos said he thinks the man may have driven around with the device for at least a day before bringing it to the sheriff’s office.

The case is under investigation.

, DataTimes MEMO: Changed in Spokane edition.