Omaha man arrested, accused of leaving fake bomb outside courthouse Friday

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    OMAHA, NE (WOWT ) — An Omaha man was arrested for placing a false bomb and obstruction of government operations after he left a suspicious package outside the Douglas County Courthouse on Friday, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Thomas Trouba, 25, is also accused of four counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of possession of money used in connection to controlled substances, manufacture of marijuana with intent to deliver and two counts of possession of a controlled substance without a tax stamp — all felonies.

As of Saturday afternoon, Trouba was being held at Douglas County Corrections on $5,000 or 10 percent bond. Nebraska’s online court records system was down for maintenance so an attorney representing him could not be found.

In a statement issued Saturday, the DCSO reported the following:

On Friday at 4:15 p.m. deputies responded to the courthouse in reference to two suspicious packages found outside the doors near 18th and Harney Streets.

Two USPS boxes had been neatly placed side-by-side near the freight elevators.

Investigators reviewed footage from surveillance cameras and saw the suspect later identified as Trouba inside the courthouse conducting business.

Trouba was seen leaving the courthouse while knocking over a no smoking sign, then going outside to a car parked facing the wrong way in a construction zone.

Trouba drove to the intersection of 18th and Harney Streets, took the boxes out of the car and left them before driving away.

“The packages had been placed in a way that would draw attention and that a reasonable person would construe as suspicious and threatening due to their proximity to a public facility entrance,” the report stated.

The area was evacuated and Omaha Police Department’s bomb squad arrived to safely detonated the packages, which were found to contain no explosives.

Investigators learned Trouba had been in court that day to resolve a traffic ticket and were able to identify him, his vehicle, and learned his address.

Trouba was arrested without incident. His next appearance in court was not listed at press time.

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