Suspicious Suitcase Triggers Bomb Scare
An unattended suitcase stuffed with old clothes was enough to clear workers and motel guests from a half-block area around the State Court of Appeals building at 200 E. Santa Clara St. in Ventura on Monday morning.
Employees noticed the suspicious case about 8:15 a.m. resting on a wall at the back of the building, Ventura Police Sgt. Bill Bogner said.
Ventura police and officers from the California Highway Patrol, who provide security for the state building, cleared the court, several offices and restaurants across the street and the Meta Motel on East Thompson Boulevard, Bogner said.
Police and bomb squad specialists from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department carefully inspected the suitcase.
“It looked like it was left by a transient,” Bogner said.
Using a remote-controlled robot, the bomb squad determined there was no threat. Police reopened the area about noon and allowed workers back into the building.
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