Rockdale Citizen

CONYERS - The Rockdale County Courthouse was evacuated for a short time Wednesday after officials there received a bomb threat.The threat was phoned into the office of the clerk of courts about 2 p.m. The caller said a bomb would go off at 3 p.m. The caller was a man, but he did not identify himself or explain the cause for the threat, Rockdale County Sheriff Jeff Wigington said.There was a full criminal and civil court calendar Wednesday, so more people were in and out of the building than usual.Rockdale County Sheriff's Office deputies conducted a sweep on the grounds of the courthouse, located in Olde Town Conyers, and searched all cars in the parking lot. The courthouse was evacuated about 2:30 p.m., at which time deputies searched the interior of the building.Wigington said courthouse workers and others left the building in a calm and orderly fashion. The deputies' search did not reveal anything suspicious, and people were allowed back into the courthouse after about an hour. The courts and other offices continued their work."We decided to err on the side of caution and evacuate the building," Wigington said. "Once the building was checked and we felt everything was clear, I talked to the employees and basically told them what was going on and asked them to go back to their areas."Courthouse employees were also asked to keep an eye out and report anything suspicious in their offices, but nothing was reported after the initial call, the sheriff said.RCSO investigators were continuing Wednesday to look into the bomb threat, and Wigington said he expected they would be able to identify the telephone the caller used."We have some pretty decent leads that we're going to follow up on and, hopefully, be able to identify the caller," Wigington said.Jay Jones can be reached at jay.jones@rockdalecitizen.com.