OTTAWA — Bond was set at $25,000 Thursday for a Lima man accused of threatening to be a terrorist with a bomb at a factory.
Thomas Hollingsworth made his first court appearance Thursday in a Putnam County courtroom where he was told he was charged with making a false alarm, a third-degree felony, and inducing panic, a fourth-degree felony. He was assigned a preliminary hearing for July 2 and ordered to have no contact with Kalida Manufacturing Inc. in Kalida.
Someone called the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office through the 911 line early Wednesday morning to report “a hostage situation” and say there was a bomb at the factory on U.S. 224, the sheriff’s office reported.
The caller told the operator he was a “terrorist” and hung up the phone, the sheriff’s office reported.
The operator was able to determine the call was made from a non-activated cell phone somewhere in the factory. The sheriff’s office searched the factory and found a lunch cooler with a padlock attached, the sheriff’s office reported.
The Lima Police bomb squad, the closest squad, was called in to check on the cooler and determined no explosives were inside. A list of possible suspects was created which led investigators to arrest Hollingsworth, the sheriff’s office reported.
Hollingsworth is being held in the Putnam County jail.
Investigators also connected Hollingsworth to another 911 call made to the sheriff’s office Tuesday claiming there was an injured person at Kalida Manufacturing and hanging up. Both incidents remain under investigation, the sheriff’s office reported.
