Bomb Suspect In Columbus Charged With Inducing Panic
Rhodes Tower Evacuated On 9/11 Anniversary
POSTED: 2:20 pm EDT September 11,
2002
UPDATED: 5:02 pm EDT September 11,
2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An admitted illegal Mexican immigrant was charged with inducing panic after the 41-story James A. Rhodes State Office Tower was evacuated Wednesday afternoon.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol charged Oscar Sesmas with the fourth-degree felony. Additional charges are possible, pending further investigation.Troopers arrested Sesmas, 35, of 7313 Chaparral Road, after three positivie alerts by bomb-detecting canines to a 2002 Ford van that was parked in the loading dock of the tower, located at 30 E. Broad St. in downtown Columbus.Bomb detecting canines from both the patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms alerted to the van, the patrol said.Patrol Lt. Col. Paul McClellan said that Sesmas said he was "installing a bomb."A worker on the 28th floor of the building approached the man, who she thought was out of place, and asked him what he was doing there, McClellan said.Sesmas, 35, told her he was there to install a bomb, McClellan said.Troopers took him into custody at 1:17 p.m. The evacuation was ordered at 2 p.m. and completed within about half an hour.The van was parked at a loading dock in the rear of the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, across the street from the Statehouse.Our Columbus affiliate reported that the scene was calm and orderly from inside the building.She said that an announcement on the building's loudspeaker alerted workers to evacuate.Bob Morgan, an investigator with the attorney general's office, said employees were told to leave via stairways. They were not told why."It was a very eerie feeling," he said of his walk from the 14th floor.Evacuee Rose Steward said that the evacuation went well in the stairwell. As she was leaving the building, she told our affiliate that she had flashbacks about what happened last Sept. 11 at the World Trade Center.Police cars cordoned off the street in front of the downtown building.Born said that the evacuation was orderly.About 4,000 state employees work in the building. It was not immediately clear how many were affected.The court, which occupies seven floors, was not in session on Wednesday. Court spokeswoman Regina Kohler said she did not know how many of the seven justices were in their offices.Police closed Broad Street betwen Third and High streets as a precautionary measure.Gov. Bob Taft was in his office in the 32-story Vern Riffe Center for the Government and the Arts, one block away from the Rhodes tower, said Joe Andrews, Taft's spokesman.He would not say whether security was increased around the governor.Police cars cordoned off the street in front of the Rhodes building in the city's downtown.The building was named after former Gov. James A. Rhodes, a Republican who served four terms. He died last year. The Riffe center is named after former House Speaker Vern Riffe.Keep refreshing this page for further information on this breaking story.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol charged Oscar Sesmas with the fourth-degree felony. Additional charges are possible, pending further investigation.Troopers arrested Sesmas, 35, of 7313 Chaparral Road, after three positivie alerts by bomb-detecting canines to a 2002 Ford van that was parked in the loading dock of the tower, located at 30 E. Broad St. in downtown Columbus.Bomb detecting canines from both the patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms alerted to the van, the patrol said.Patrol Lt. Col. Paul McClellan said that Sesmas said he was "installing a bomb."A worker on the 28th floor of the building approached the man, who she thought was out of place, and asked him what he was doing there, McClellan said.Sesmas, 35, told her he was there to install a bomb, McClellan said.Troopers took him into custody at 1:17 p.m. The evacuation was ordered at 2 p.m. and completed within about half an hour.The van was parked at a loading dock in the rear of the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, across the street from the Statehouse.Our Columbus affiliate reported that the scene was calm and orderly from inside the building.She said that an announcement on the building's loudspeaker alerted workers to evacuate.Bob Morgan, an investigator with the attorney general's office, said employees were told to leave via stairways. They were not told why."It was a very eerie feeling," he said of his walk from the 14th floor.Evacuee Rose Steward said that the evacuation went well in the stairwell. As she was leaving the building, she told our affiliate that she had flashbacks about what happened last Sept. 11 at the World Trade Center.Police cars cordoned off the street in front of the downtown building.Born said that the evacuation was orderly.About 4,000 state employees work in the building. It was not immediately clear how many were affected.The court, which occupies seven floors, was not in session on Wednesday. Court spokeswoman Regina Kohler said she did not know how many of the seven justices were in their offices.Police closed Broad Street betwen Third and High streets as a precautionary measure.Gov. Bob Taft was in his office in the 32-story Vern Riffe Center for the Government and the Arts, one block away from the Rhodes tower, said Joe Andrews, Taft's spokesman.He would not say whether security was increased around the governor.Police cars cordoned off the street in front of the Rhodes building in the city's downtown.The building was named after former Gov. James A. Rhodes, a Republican who served four terms. He died last year. The Riffe center is named after former House Speaker Vern Riffe.Keep refreshing this page for further information on this breaking story.Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
