BROOKVILLE BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) – The details of an incident where a 74-year-old man allegedly threatened to “blow up” the Jefferson County Commissioners’ Office have been released.
Court documents indicate the Brookville Borough Police Department filed criminal charges against 74-year-old Larry James Torrell, of Punxsutawney.
According to a criminal complaint, around 9:11 a.m. on February 11, Brookville Borough Police were dispatched to the Jefferson County Commissioner’s Office on Main Street in Brookville for an investigation.
According to the complaint, it was reported that a man had made a threat to “blow up the building.”
The complaint states that through further investigation, police discovered that around noon on February 10, a white male with white hair, a white beard, and eyeglasses attempted to enter the second floor of the Jefferson County building on Main Street, which is home to numerous local government agencies and offices, including the County Commissioners’ Office, the Veterans’ Affairs Office, the County Treasurer’s Office, Children and Youth Services, and several others. He was then met by a county employee at the floor’s entrance, which is locked for security reasons.
The man allegedly asked the employee to direct him to the Veterans’ Affairs Office to speak with another employee.
According to the complaint, when the man was told the employee was unavailable, he became upset and said he “might as well blow up the building,” and then left the scene.
The complaint notes another employee also heard the man’s comment.
Police spoke to the employee who interacted with the man and the employee who overheard the treat, and both employees allegedly stated they were afraid of being harmed after the threat was made.
Police then obtained video footage of the encounter and made still images of the suspect. The images were then made public on the Brookville Police Department’s Facebook page, with a request for the public to help identify the man.
Around 2:30 p.m on February 11, police received a phone call from Larry Torell.
According to the complaint, Torell admitted he was the man in the photographs. He related he had been trying for over a month to schedule a meeting with the county Veterans’ Affairs representative without success and said he had gotten angry that day and “may have said something he shouldn’t have.” He also stated he did not mean to cause alarm and would not hurt anyone.
The following first-degree misdemeanor charge was filed against Magisterial District Judge Gregory M Bazylak’s office on February 16:
– Terroristic Threats, Cause Serious Public Inconvenience
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on April 15, with Judge Bazylak presiding.
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74-Year-Old Man Accused of Threatening to ‘Blow Up’ Jefferson County Commissioners Office
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