Man Arrested After Courthouse Threats
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) --- A man from Florida is accused of sending an email that caused some big problems at the Allegheny County Courthouse.
Court documents reveal that 48-year-old Dave Candle from Navarra, Florida has had run-ins with Police in the Pittsburgh area before. Tonight, Candle is in more hot water because of an internet threat.
Candle was taken into custody by Allegheny County police Monday afternoon at Pittsburgh International Airport after his plane landed.
The suspect was immediately turned over to the County Sheriff's department. He was scheduled to appear in court later this week, representing himself in a civil case involving a property dispute.
Police say the threat he made over the internet is what led to the arrest today.
"Candle sent an e-mail to a lawyer in Pittsburgh after he was involved in a civil suit," says Lieutenant Jack Kearney. "He is one of the parties of the action, he made a threat to the lawyer saying that he'd light the court up like a viet cong landing zone."
After the e-mail threat was received last Friday, bomb sniffing dogs were brought in to go through several buildings, including the Allegheny County courthouse, court rooms in the city county building, and offices in the Frick building.
No explosives were found.
Candle was scheduled to appear in the courtroom of Common Pleas court Judge R. Stanton Wettick later this week.
Wetticik recently fined him for lying to the court.
Sources say Candle told a Pittsburgh detective and the Assistant District Attorney that he had evidence that fraud had been perpetrated on the court.
Candle is accused of making terroristic threats, harassment, and obstructing the administration of justice.
Investigators continue to look into his connection to Pittsburgh.
"He has an ID or Driver's License with an address registered in O'hara Township," Lieutenant Kearney says. "He claimed he lived in Pennsylvania until a couple of years ago, now, he says he's a resident of Florida.
In the past, Candle faced charges including loitering, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, and trespassing. All of the charges were filed in Pennsylvania.
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