Henrico man arrested for county bomb threats
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

Boyd

County police arrested a Henrico man last Thursday in connection with a series of bomb threats to several schools, the Chesterfield County Airport and Chesterfield Towne Center. Derrick L. Boyd, 21, of the 200 block of Engleside Drive, appeared in Chesterfield County General District Court for a pretrial hearing on Friday and is charged with five counts of threatening to bomb.

Boyd is being held in the county jail for allegedly phoning in a rash of bomb threats beginning Oct. 20. Nine Chesterfield schools received 13 bomb threats in the last 10 days of October.

Police usually charge a suspect with the cases where they have the most reliable evidence while they continue to investigate any additional crimes. The police department and the Commonwealth Attorney's Office are regularly consulting with each other to determine which charges to prosecute Boyd on.

With the current five felony charges, Boyd could face 1-10 year jail terms and a fine of $2,500 for each bomb threat.

As of press deadline, police haven't ruled out the possibility of a second suspect.

"There are minor variations in the calls," said Captain Paige Foster last week, "so we can't exclude that there is more than one person. The phrasing has been similar, but three times the caller has used a 10 minute time limit."

The police investigation has included checking on former students at the high schools, coordinating with school officials, and checking disciplinary records going back two years. Disgruntled and former ex-employees are also being considered.

After receiving a bomb threat, the school building is usually evacuated, taking about 30 minutes of classroom time. The process resembles a fire drill while police and dogs search the building.

The first bomb threat was at 3:50 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Chesterfield Towne Center followed by Lloyd C. Bird High School on Oct. 22 and the Chesterfield County Airport on Oct. 23. Over the ensuing days, Bird had two more bomb threats while Clover Hill and Meadowbrook high schools received two threats each. Matoaca, Falling Creek and Providence middle schools received one threat each as did Clover Hill, Crestwood and Woolridge elementary schools.

"It's unusual when there is a bomb threat called into an elementary school," said Foster.

There was also a bomb threat note found inside a bathroom at Thomas Dale High School at 10:53 p.m. on Oct. 23, and an unexploded pipe bomb was found at the Chesterfield Technical Center on Courthouse Road at 6:45 p.m. on Oct. 16.

No one was injured in any of the incidents.

Investigators are still seeking information on the bomb threats. Anyone with information is urged to call Criminal Investigations at 748- 1268 or Crime Solvers at 748-0660.