Nov 2, 2015 2 min read

A Washington man was arrested early Sunday by city police after he allegedly told a 911 dispatcher he would detonate a bomb at the George Washington Hotel if the work release prisoners at Washington County jail were not freed.

Christopher Collins, 37, whose last known address was at 240 N. College St., was charged with two counts of terroristic threats.

The dispatcher told police that the caller, later identified as Collins, immediately hung up after indicating he would detonate the bomb at the hotel at 60 S. Main St. if his demands to release the prisoners were not met. The cellphone was “pinged,” and it was determined that it was in the area of the tower on the Washington Trust Building.

Police said they called the number and got Collins’ voicemail. Officers went to his last known address on North College, which was the Safe Haven facility for the homeless, and were told by staff members that he discharged himself earlier that day from the facility. They also told police that he was not taking his medication and became erratic.

After getting a description of Collins and his clothing, police searched the area of the 10 block of South Main. They said Collins was found hiding under a covered porch on the south side of the Washington County Courthouse. He allegedly told police he made the threat and had thrown the cellphone into a garbage can. The cellphone was retrieved, and Collins gave police the access code for it. It showed that a call was placed to the 911 center at 1:54 a.m., police said.

Collins was arraigned before District Judge Gary Havelka and placed in Washington County jail on $50,000 bond. He is scheduled for a Nov. 10 preliminary hearing before District Judge Robert Redlinger.