Man seeking to avoid court gets charged with making bomb threa

URBANA, Ill. -- A Champaign man has been arrested on suspicion of calling in a bomb threat to the Champaign County Courthouse.

Police said Marvin Lacy, 57, called an employee of the circuit clerk's office around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, 15 minutes before he was to appear at a hearing to revoke his probation in an obstruction of justice case.

Lacy was arrested Thursday by Champaign County sheriff's officers.

Phone records enabled investigators to trace the call to Lacy, Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh said.

"In this day of computer technology it's pretty easy to check most phone calls, even from cell phones," Walsh said.

Investigators do not have enough information to seek a second felony charge of disorderly conduct against Lacy for a bomb threat that was called in on March 25, Walsh said.

Lacy was supposed to appear in court that day on a motion to dismiss a personal injury lawsuit that he filed in January against a correctional officer.

On both days bomb-sniffing dogs and courthouse security officers searched the courthouse but found nothing, Walsh said.