Two arrested after bomb threat in Tazewell

By JIM TALBERT\Staff
TAZEWELL - A man and woman from Amonate were arrested for threatening to blow up the Tazewell County Courthouse Sept. 2.
Jeffery Hart, 42, and Kimberly Keen, 35, boyfriend and girlfriend were both arrested around one p.m. Sept. 2. This was just prior to the reopening of the courthouse following a 9:30 a.m. call to general district court claiming there was a bomb in the building.
A second call came in around 12:30 pm but dispatchers only relayed it as a suspicious call. That call came to 911 and officers were able to trace it to a payphone near McDonalds in the Tazewell Mall.
Keen was arrested shortly after the call came in and charged with two counts of making a bomb threat and two counts of conspiracy. Hart had remained at the courthouse but started walking out of town shortly before court was to resume.
Tazewell Police Chief Brian Hieatt stopped Hart and asked him why he was leaving. Hart reportedly told Hieatt something had happened and they were not going to have court. Hart was arrested and charged with two counts of conspiracy and two counts of accessory before the fact to making a bomb threat.
Authorities believe the calls were placed in an attempt to delay or stop a hearing that was scheduled for Hart. Both he and Keen were taken before a magistrate. Keen was released on personal recognizance and Hart was placed under $10,000 bond.