Erie police have charged a 61-year-old man in connection with the incident that led police to dispatch the bomb squad to East 38th Street on Oct. 20, causing the evacuation of nearby JoAnna Connell Elementary School.
The defendant, John F. Drumm, was charged in two cases, both involving his behavior on Oct. 20. The first case preceded the incident that resulted in the bomb scare.
In the first case, Drumm was charged with possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault and disorderly conduct for conduct that took place the morning of Oct. 20, according to an Erie police arrest report.
Police said Drumm was found around 8:15 a.m. waving a gun outside Pano’s Restaurant, 1504 W. 38th St. He was then stopped in the 1800 block of East 38th Street, according to the arrest report.
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In the second case, Drumm was charged with disorderly conduct for an incident at 1803 E. 38th St., according to the arrest report. That is the spot where police investigated Drumm’s vehicle for a suspicious item with wiring shortly before 10 a.m. on Oct. 20.
The Erie Bomb Squad investigated and the scene was declared safe around 1:20 p.m. The incident prompted the Erie School District to evacuate students at JoAnna Connell Elementary School, 1820 E. 38th St., to Wilson Middle School, 718 E. 28th St.
No further details have been released on the bomb squad investigation as of 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 21.
Defendant was on probation
Erie police charged Drumm by summons and citation, according to court records. He was not jailed.
The criminal complaints and other documents related to the charges were not immediately available. Drumm was unavailable for comment when the Erie Times-News tried to reach him by phone on Oct. 21.
Court records show that Drumm is currently on probation. He was sentenced to seven years of probation in January 2022 after pleading guilty to terroristic threats from an incident in July 2021, according to the records.
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Staff writer Ed Palattella contributed to this report.
Nicholas Sorensen can be contacted at Nsorensen@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie man charged after bomb squad investigation