Bomb Threats

Just hours after a deadly car-bomb explosion at a federal building in Oklahoma City, bomb threats forced the evacuation Wednesday of hundreds of workers from the FBI's headquarters in Santa Ana and from the Anaheim City Hall amid an air of heightened security and jittery nerves at government buildings across Orange County.

The bomb threat that delayed the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers for 1 hour 25 minutes Friday at Auburn Hills, Mich., was one of four received that night regarding the game, police said. The game was delayed after a caller told officials at the Palace there was a bomb in the Pacers' locker room. It was Indiana's first game in Detroit since a brawl Nov. 19 between the teams that spilled into the stands, and back onto the court.

New bomb threats prompted authorities to close London's two major airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, for two hours Sunday night--just hours after the third mortar attack on Heathrow in five days. Scotland Yard said no explosives were found after the last warnings, which it called a "cynical ploy by the IRA to cause unnecessary confusion and fear amongst the public." The airports were reopened at 9:45 p.m. local time. Thousands of airline passengers were affected.

Sheriff's detectives arrested a man early Friday who was suspected of making bomb threats that shut down freeway traffic for miles, forced hundreds of people from their homes and interrupted Metro Green Line service for about six hours. Police began receiving calls about 6:45 p.m. Thursday from a man who was threatening to blow up a car parked at the Willowbrook park-and-ride lot if anyone approached it.

Students from five local schools were sent home Wednesday with letters warning that their campuses were included in a list of bomb threat targets. Sheriff's Department and Conejo Valley School District officials said they have no plans to cancel classes today and that they are taking every precaution to ensure students' safety. "We are making sure the school sites are safe," Senior Deputy Ed Tumbleson said Wednesday afternoon. "We're being very proactive, and we're not taking this lightly."

A loner who called in more than 300 fake bomb threats to the airlines was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison by a federal judge who said there is no room for leniency when it comes to disruptive threats against the nation's air transit system. William A. Risley, who had been jobless, collecting welfare and living in a $15-a-night downtown San Diego hotel when arrested last year, had asked U.S. District Judge J.

Federal prosecutors dropped a criminal complaint Friday against a Santa Monica man accused of telephoning bomb threats during the Democratic National Convention. Assistant U.S. Atty. Shannon Wright said she wanted more time to investigate Lawrence David Meyers' claim that he was elsewhere when the calls were made. "We are simply continuing the investigation and reserve the right to refile if warranted," Wright said.

After spending the last month chasing stories about bomb scares reported throughout the county--many of which turned out to be bogus--I was curious how much money these cases had cost taxpayers. Ready for a bombshell? At a total cost of more than $155,000 in salaries, benefits and special equipment, the sheriff's bomb squad responded to 12 reports of suspicious devices since the Littleton, Colo., shootings on April 20, said Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Higgason.

About 700 employees were evacuated from the San Diego County Administration Center on Thursday for the second successive day after bomb threats were phoned in by an anonymous caller. After a two-hour search of the four-story building, police called the threat a hoax. "This is the second call in two days," San Diego Police Sgt. Tom Dechandt said. "We didn't find anything, but we took the call very seriously." A search Wednesday also failed to turn up any bombs.