Bridge threat report lands driver in jail

Man allegedly said he would ‘blow up' Nice

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A Waldorf man is charged with threatening to blow up the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, a statement he allegedly made Saturday to a toll worker while looking at her with "evil eyes," court documents state.

As he was trying to cross from Maryland to Virginia at about 10:30 p.m., Frank Joseph Davis, 53, told the toll collector at the Nice Bridge that he was a "U.S. Marine marshal" and was headed to the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., according to the charging documents filed in his case.

Davis asked for directions to the base and reportedly added that he was going to pick up his Black Hawk helicopter.

During the interaction, Davis seemed to be getting irritated and repeated that he was going to get his helicopter, the toll collector told authorities. He also said something about Afghanistan, but the bridge worker couldn't remember the statement.

When Davis paid the toll and began to drive away in his 1997 Lincoln, the worker told him to have a nice weekend. Court documents report that Davis responded by looking at her with "evil eyes" and saying: "I will have a nice weekend, and I will be back to blow your bridge up."

The toll worker identified Davis as the person who had made the statement, and the 53-year-old man was arrested Monday and charged with threatening to commit arson. Davis is being held in Charles County jail on a $100,000 bond, according to Diane Richardson, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

"Since September 11, 2001, all threats on any infrastructure are taken extremely serious. These threats are investigated and followed up until the threat has been prevented or found to be incredible," wrote a detective with the Maryland Transportation Authority, which handled the case.

Davis has a pending theft charge in Charles County District Court dating from Jan. 16.

brodgers@somdnews.com