Man charged with creating a bomb scare
A 28-year-old Columbia man was charged with phoning a bomb threat to the Howard County Central Library Friday afternoon, a scare that caused scores of people to be evacuated into the cold, police said.
Curtis Erlind Mallery of the 6900 block of Kilrain Court was released into a parent's custody on a $5,000 unsecured bond, court records show.
He was charged with one count of making a bomb threat, a misdemeanor arson charge punishable by a $10,000 fine, a year in jail or both.
According to police, officers and emergency officials responded to the 10300 block of Little Patuxent Parkway at 2:50 p.m. Friday for a report of an explosive device within the library. The caller told a library worker that a bomb was to explode within an hour, police said.
Emergency officials escorted library workers and visitors outside, while they searched the two-story building. No bomb was found, police said.
Officers arrested Mr. Mallery after a brief interview at his home in Owen Brown village, police said. They would not say what led them to Mr. Mallery's home.
POLICE LOG
* Town Center: 10200 block of Wincopin Circle: Someone pried open a rear door to Clyde's restaurant-bar Sunday, but police said there was no entry.