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Wednesday, 14 January 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — State investigators assisting in the probe into the Dec. 3 bomb scare in St. Marys are finished with lab analysis of some of the evidence recovered at the scene.
“Our lab is pretty much finished with the explosives portion of the case but has yet to forward the information because we are waiting on latent fingerprints,” Ohio Division of Fire Marshal Public Information Officer Shane Cartmill told The Evening Leader. “They found fingerprints and sent those on for investigation and basically we are trying to rule out anyone else and confirm the identity of the person in custody.”
Jesse B. McDermitt, 18, of St. Marys was arrested Dec. 3 on probation and parole violations as a result of his alleged involvement in an incident that took place at the St. Marys Marathon station and Townview Terrace Apartments. Law enforcement officials, including the FBI and the ATF, arrived on the scene to help with the investigation.
“I’m not sure what tests they did exactly, but they were attempting to determine what the devices were, how they were made and what types of explosives, if any, were present,” Cartmill said. “Specifically, I cannot tell you what kinds of tests they used.”
Cartmill also declined to reveal the results of the analysis, only revealing the information is still in Columbus.
In a release obtained by The Evening Leader, Cartmill indicates the devices McDermitt is believed to have made were incendiary in nature — something that would burn instead of explode.
Once the fingerprint analysis is finished, Cartmill said he expects the information to be forwarded to authorities in St. Marys.
“Basically we will be done with all we can do in terms of the active portion of the investigation,” Cartmill said. “What will happen is we will get called back for additional questions by whoever is bringing the charges. Our investigators are often asked to testify in the case.”
St. Marys Police Chief Greg Foxhoven said McDermitt is being held in custody on alleged probation and parole violations. McDermitt was involved in a similar incident at Wapakoneta High School in 2006.
“He hasn’t been charged with anything related to that incident other than those violations,” Foxhoven said. “We are still waiting for the fire marshal’s report and once we have that, it will be submitted to Auglaize County Prosecuting Attorney Ed Pierce for his review. There is no need for us to hurry through this process.”
because he (McDermitt) isn’t going anywhere.” |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 19 January 2009 )
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