Newport News, Va. – The Newport News Sheriff’s Office arrested a man for the February 20th bomb threat that led to the temporary shutdown of all three Newport News courthouses.
On Tuesday an arrest warrant was served on 21-year old Devon Tyrell Slaughter after an investigation by the Sheriff’s Office traced the phone call to a payphone outside a convenience store located in the 4700 block of Marshall Avenue.
The Sheriff’s Office determined that Slaughter was trying to delay his sentencing hearing on a malicious wounding conviction, scheduled the morning of the bomb threat.
The Newport News resident was in the Newport News City Jail on that charge when the arrest was made.
He is now charged with four counts of threats to bomb, a Class 5 felony that carries up to ten years in prison and up to a $2,500 fine.
Sheriff Gabe Morgan said, “My position is to send a strong message to anyone who attempts to impede the justice system, whether through witness intimidation or by disrupting court proceedings. We will use all available recourses to bring them to justice. The public should have a high level of confidence in the justice system’s ability to not only arrest, but also to ensure they have their day in court without disruption of those proceedings.”
This is the second bomb threat arrest made by the Newport News Sheriff’s Office. In November of 2010, the sheriff’s office arrested a man in connection with the October 20, 2010 bomb threat.
