Drug Defendant Believed Dead, 15 Hurt by Bomb at Courthouse

A man on trial on drug dealing charges was believed killed Tuesday when a briefcase he was carrying exploded in the Howard County courthouse, and at least 15 other people were injured, including the sheriff, officers said.

The defendant, Robert Gray of Marion, was “believed to be dead” in the blast, prosecutor James Andrews said at a news conference. However, he refused to comment further, and other law enforcement officers would not comment.

Sheriff John Beatty was seriously injured by the blast. Gray’s attorney and two other law officers were hospitalized, and 11 people were treated at hospitals and released.

Courthouse Sealed

Police said the courthouse was sealed because they feared that more explosives might be inside. Authorities also feared that the building had suffered severe structural damage that could endanger searchers.

Andrews said confirmation of a fatality would come only after the county coroner was allowed into the blast site, but by late evening the coroner still had not been admitted.

Meanwhile, the Chrysler Corp. transmission plant in Kokomo where Gray had worked was evacuated Tuesday evening after officials received reports of another bomb threat, personnel director Tom Beatty said.

Indiana State Police Cpl. Jeff Stinson said authorities apparently had been suspicious of the briefcase and took Gray to the sheriff’s office to examine it. Sheriff Beatty’s office is near the courtroom where a jury was impaneled earlier in the day for Gray’s afternoon trial.

Conflicting Accounts

Reports conflicted about whether the bomb was detonated, was on a timer or exploded when someone tried to open the briefcase.

Katherine Walsh-Miller, a spokeswoman for Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, said the sheriff was burned over 25% of his body. She said he also suffered multiple lacerations, with embedded fragments of metal and numerous burns on his torso, arms and legs. He was listed in serious condition.

Gray was on trial on two counts of dealing in controlled substances. He had been accused of selling LSD to undercover agents in 1983.

Sgt. Fred Biggs at the state police post in Peru said authorities received a bomb threat shortly after the explosion.