The distinctive buzzer of a metal detector filled the halls of the Stark County Courthouse this week as those entering courtrooms fumbled to rid their pockets of cell phones, keys and other metallic items.
In an effort to prevent another close call with a weapon or worse, area law enforcement is stepping up security in courtrooms.
Vicente Chacano allegedly tried to shoot a prosecuting attorney in Hettinger on Feb. 4 after the jury found him guilty of child molestation, witnesses say.
Chacano was unable to get a round into the chamber before being tackled, Adams County Sheriff Gene Molbert said.
The courthouse had a metal detector that had never been used, but that is no longer the case, Molbert said.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It will be ready for court next week," Molbert said.
Court is normally held once a month at Adams County Courthouse, so there hasn't been a hearing there since the incident, he added.
Presiding Southwest District Judge Bill Herauf said he is working with all sheriffs in the region to increase security.
"If they don't have a stand-up metal detector, they have a handheld," Herauf said. "Everybody's going to get swept before they get into the courtroom. All bags going into the courtroom will be searched. We're making sure that guns are not going to be there to the best of our ability."
There will always be an officer present at hearings, which wasn't always the case before, Herauf said.
Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said unless necessary, no bags -- purses included -- will be allowed in courtrooms. No electronic devices are allowed in courtrooms and officers will search courtrooms prior to allowing anyone in, he added.
Many officials say the measures are long overdue.
"It always has been a concern," Judge H. Patrick Weir said. "I think it's pretty obvious that what happened in Hettinger, you know, lent some urgency to what had been discussed for a long time. It seems like, well, now's the time to do it."
ADVERTISEMENT
Dickinson Police Capt. Joe Cianni said security is being provided for all municipal court hearings as well.
It may seem like overkill to be searched before entering a hearing for writing bad checks, but officials say there is no way to know how somebody is going to react.
"This security is necessary not only in Stark County, but anywhere," Tuhy said. "We need to provide security not only for the judges, but for the defendants, for the public, for the jury, for anybody that's in that courtroom."
The measures being taken help put Herauf's mind at ease.
"It does for me, but beyond what I feel, we have public who are coming to that courtroom and they come there as witnesses, they come as litigants, they come as jurors, they come as observers," he said. "And it makes me feel more comfortable the fact that when they come in there, we're trying to take steps to make sure that a weapon doesn't end up in there."
Molbert and Tuhy say though the security is needed, it's taking patrol officers off the streets.
"What it boils down to is I don't have the personnel to do all this," Tuhy said. "If it comes to the point of having to pay overtime, we'll have to pay overtime."
