A stormy relationship possibly shut down the Gwinnett County courthouse in the midst of stormy weather on Monday.
The shutdown was ordered after a woman spotted her husband by her car with the hood up shortly after he pleaded guilty to making terroristic threats against her, said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Deputy Shannon Volkodav.
“She was concerned,” Volkodav said.
That prompted a shutdown of the Gwinnett County Justice and Administration Center, the use of a robot to case the car and the bomb squad to inspect it, Volkodav said.
No bomb was found. Instead the bomb squad found the car battery had been disconnected, rendering the automobile motionless, Volkodav said. And she noted that the husband — who was sentenced to work release —will not face any charges or more investigation because he owned the vehicle, meaning it was his battery to disconnect.
“At the end of the day, it sounds like it was somebody who was angry and did something a little bit vindictive,” Volkodav said.
She noted that the disconnected battery dovetailed with a tornado warning that had people taking shelter across the northern metro counties. “It caused a lot of disruption … but that is just part of our job,” she said.
The justice center holds courtrooms and offices for the county’s board of commissioners and district attorney, among others.
No further information was immediately available.
Staff writer Tyler Estep contributed to this report.
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