Alleged bomb threats lead to arrest

Published 4:19 pm Wednesday, March 19, 2014

by Gazette staff

A 50-year-old homeless man was arrested Nov. 17 after police say he threatened to bomb the Clallam County Courthouse because he was mad about diesel prices.

Officers responded to QFC at 5:18 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, after a store manager reported Joseph Robert Zacker, who is transient, was intoxicated and refusing to leave, according to a police report.

The manager told police Zacker was at the store around 3:20 a.m. and was asked to leave because he was being vulgar, officers said.

Police said as Zacker left the store he told the manager: “Watch the news, I am going to blow up the courthouse.”

Officers contacted Zacker inside the store near the bakery and told him to leave, police said.

After collecting a written statement from the manager, police asked Zacker about his bomb threat.

Zacker told police he made the comment because he was mad about diesel prices and it was a mistake for him to say that, officers said.

Zacker was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass and threats to bomb. He was booked into the Clallam County Correctional Facility and later released.