Umatilla depot bomb threat suspect released

This story was published Fri, Mar 10, 2000

By Terry Hudson
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - A suspect in a string of bomb threat incidents at the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility was released Thursday after yet another threat was called in to the depot while he was in jail.

Jay Hysong had been arrested Wednesday afternoon at his home in Stanfield shortly after bomb squads searched buildings at the chemical agent incinerator construction site. The FBI said Hysong was suspected of phoning in a bomb threat Tuesday.

Hysong was released at about 11:30 a.m. with no charges pending against him.

"The results of the ongoing investigation led to his release with no charges, and the investigation continues," said Gordon Compton, an FBI spokesman in Portland. "We had probable cause to believe he was the person after we received some information. Based on that information a warrant was issued for his arrest. After further investigation, there is no cause to hold him at this time. It happens sometimes."

Several calls to Hysong's Stanfield residence were not answered.

Thursday was the third bomb threat received by a Raytheon Demilitarization Co. employee in the past two weeks. A fourth threat was made last year.

Lt. Col. Tom Woloszyn, commander of the depot, said tapes of the phone calls sound like one caller, but he didn't want to be specific about the messages.

"This guy is being very deliberate," Woloszyn said. "Obviously he's thinking about what he's doing. The time of day he's calling is very disruptive. The workers don't get paid for the whole day. The mood around here is frustration."

Making bomb threats is a felony under federal law that carries a possible penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine.

The depot, seven miles west of Hermiston, stores more than 220,000 munitions and containers filled with 7.4 million pounds of deadly nerve and mustard agents. The Army plans to start incinerating the weapons in October 2001.

"OK, I'm frustrated now," Woloszyn said Thursday. "I'm frustrated that anyone would do this, and I'm frustrated that they would treat our efforts with such low regard.

"We will still get together tomorrow to continue this mission and drive on. We have a job to do and we will get it done, and if part of that is dealing with bomb threats and the culprits, so be it."

With the incinerator construction nearly 80 percent complete, Raytheon, the company hired to build and operate the disposal facility, has begun to cut back on laborers and construction workers.

The FBI would not comment on possible motives.

"We don't want to speculate as to any motive," Compton said, "because there are so many issues connected to this matter."

In addition to the layoffs as the work winds down, there have been previous concerns by workers about safety conditions. Those arose after an incident Sept. 15 in which three dozen workers became sick after breathing unknown fumes inside one of the demilitarization buildings.

On Thursday, Raytheon officials sent craft employees home, while administrative employees moved to A-Block in the southeastern portion of the depot for safety and accountability.

The depot crisis management team assembled in the depot's emergency operations center and notified county and state emergency operation centers. The depot's fire department responded to the site.

"We're still reviewing some procedures and security measures," Woloszyn said. "If we can give the workers a sense of security, we may not have to go to full evacuation."

An Army explosives disposal team, as well as the Oregon State Police bomb squad from Pendleton, searched the area for nearly three hours.

"It's frustrating to be at this guy's whim," Woloszyn said. "There is a cost involved, but there are people involved, too. We still have to go through evacuation procedures and everyone's doing a great job at that. But it still puts people at risk, and that's just not right."

 

Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.