DeKalb County inmate charged in threat that evacuated courthouse
(DeKalb County Sheriff's Office)
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Officials say an inmate in the DeKalb County Jail was behind a threat that evacuated the county's courthouse Thursday afternoon.
Law enforcement agents investigated the DeKalb County courthouse and several nearby businesses for hours after receiving a threat that a possible explosive device was in the area.
Shortly after 4 p.m., the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said that an hours-long security sweep concluded with "no device being found."
After an investigation, officials say they identified the source of the threat as 47-year-old Atlanta resident Joseph Michael Caquette, an inmate who is being held at the DeKalb County Jail without bond on a felony charge.
"Not only did this individual commit an additional offense while already in custody, but he wasted valuable local law enforcement resources with his threat to life and property in our community," says Sheriff Melody M. Maddox.
Caquette is now charged with misdemeanor terroristic threats and acts.
The Decatur and DeKalb County Police Departments responded to the scene to assist the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office in the security sweep. Law enforcement personnel from the Marshal’s Office, MARTA Police, and Homeland Security also assisted in the investigation.
No one was injured in the evacuation.
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