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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Ind. Courts - "Kokomo courthouse gets metal detectors 2 decades after bombing" [Updated]

An AP story reports today:

KOKOMO, Ind. - The Howard County Courthouse is getting metal detectors nearly 20 years after a man smuggled a bomb inside and detonated it, killing himself and injuring 15 others.

The county will receive $29,295 grant from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to buy an X-ray machine, tables and metal detector to increase security at the courthouse, Howard Circuit Court Judge Lynn Murray said Tuesday.

The equipment will be placed at public entrance at the east doorway of the downtown courthouse.

"We want the equipment used during high-profile trials," Murray said. "It is mainly a deterrent. People coming into the courthouse will be screened for weapons."

In 1987, Robert David Gray, who was being tried on drug charges, smuggled a briefcase loaded with four pipe bombs into the courthouse about 40 miles north of Indianapolis.

Then-Sheriff John D. Beatty steered Gray into his office to examine the contents of the briefcase, and the explosives went off, killing Gray.

Beatty was standing about five feet away from Gray and was injured when the bomb exploded. He died in 1999.

[Updated] Here is a story from today's Kokomo Tribune, by Ken de la Bastride. Some quotes:
Sometime in the near future, people coming to the Howard County courthouse will have their bags and packages scanned and will be required to walk through a metal detector.

The county learned in August that it was eligible for up to a $50,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. The catch was that the funds had to be spent by Oct. 31.

Howard County Circuit Court Judge Lynn Murray said Tuesday that the county has been awarded a grant.

The county will receive $29,295 to purchase an X-ray machine, tables and metal detector to increase security at the courthouse.

“We will have the purchase completed by the end of the month and the equipment will be installed shortly thereafter,” Murray said. * * *

The county also received approval of $17,000 in Homeland Security funds for the purchase of computers for the Howard County Emergency Management Agency, according to director Larry Smith.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 4, 2006 06:52 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts