March 29, 2024

Bomb threat closes down courthouse

Nothing suspicious found during search

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a bomb threat issued to the Jasper County Courthouse Thursday morning. The building was evacuated shortly following the call at approximately 10:30 a.m., Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty said, with an all clear given at approximately 11 a.m.

The call was made to a 911 line indicating there was a bomb in the building. Upon receiving the call, additional agencies were notified including courthouse security, the courthouse offices, Newton Police and Fire Departments along with sheriff’s office.

A decision was made to evacuate the courthouse and a search of the building was conducted by law enforcement officials and maintenance staff. Nothing suspicious was found or noted during the search and just a half an hour after the original call, the all clear was given and daily business resumed at the courthouse.

A visual difference during this bomb threat was the appearance of military uniformed officers. Halferty said the officers were actually sheriff’s deputies who were returning from a drug search warrant.

“Our tactical team had just completed a drug search warrant and happened to be close, so we diverted them to assist,” Halferty said. “Normally, they would have been in a sheriff’s department uniform but they just happened to be conducting the search warrant.”

The investigation into the threat is ongoing.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com