Suspect Named in Courthouse Bomb Threat

An East Wenatchee man is in custody after allegedly calling in a bomb threat to the Chelan County government campus Wednesday afternoon.

The campus was evacuated for over three hours before a search team with a K-9 concluded there were no suspicious items or packages at the location.

The threat was tracked to a phone and address in East Wenatchee that led to the arrest of 35-year-old Nicholas H. Fulcher.

Fulcher was subsequently booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on one count of threatening to bomb or injure property, a class D felony, and an outstanding warrant.

Wenatchee Police Capt. Edgar Reinfeld said the charges are considered felonious because the alleged threat was made against a government building.

Fulcher reportedly told police that he made the threat to avoid a scheduled court appearance.

Reinfeld says the threat was phoned in to the Chelan County Superior court clerk at about 1:40 p.m.

Responders quickly took action and evacuated the courthouse and the rest of the Chelan County government campus.

Several streets and portions of Memorial Park were also sealed off during the search.

The county jail was partially evacuated, including all 80 inmates who were taken across the street to the juvenile detention center.

Regional Justice Center Director Chris Sharp ordered the inmates be returned to the jail after the search failed to turn up any suspicious devices.

A Police K-9 from an out-of-area agency arrived between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m., and an “all clear” was given about 40 minutes later, according to Capt. Reinfeld.

He estimated the entire incident was wrapped up by about 6:30 p.m.