A local man faces felony charges in two counties in conjunction with a suspicious substance which shut down Gordonsville Town Hall Sept. 15.
Mark Ryland Dowdy, 36, of Gordonsville, was arrested Sept. 18 on six counts of felonious intimidation, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Dowdy is facing five charges in Albemarle County and one in Louisa County.
Orange County Sheriff Mark Amos said much of the police work in the case originated in Orange, but warrants were ultimately obtained by Albemarle County and Louisa County law enforcement agencies. Gordonsville police and Virginia State Police were also involved in the case.
"We got our heads together to find out the background on this guy and figure out which agencies were involved," Amos said.
A police search warrant said Dowdy had a dispute with former employer Klockner Pentaplast. A number of signs protesting the company were found at the company's Gordonsville facility, court records said. Those signs were laced with the potentially toxic powder benzoyl benzoate.
Louisa County Sheriff's Office Major Donald Lowe said the signs, and the benzoyl benzoate on them, were placed at Klockner with the intention of provoking fear.
"It's our belief that he did that to intimidate," Lowe said.
According to the search warrant affidavit, after the signs were brought to the Gordonsville Police Department at town hall Sept. 15, the entire building was evacuated "due to the presence of white powder."
Town of Gordonsville Chief of Police Christopher Spare said a contaminant was brought into the town hall building at 10:30 a.m. by citizens. The building was subsequently sealed to the public while the suspicious material was examined by members of the Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.
There were no injuries associated with the town hall incident, according to Spare.
Amos said Orange County sheriff's deputies arrested Dowdy in the town of Gordonsville Sept. 18.
"We did some surveillance on the guy and we ended up arresting him on Thursday night on High Street during a traffic stop," Amos said.
Court records reveal that Dowdy claimed alleged interference with a contractual agreement and subsequent "irreversible damage and invasion of privacy" when he left his job at Klockner five years ago. A Klockner attorney sent Dowdy a letter dated Sept. 5 asking him to stay off Klockner property and terminate communication with management. Dowdy responded, the affidavit continued, with profanity-laced voicemails and e-mails.
According to Amos, Dowdy did not have a criminal history in Orange County.
Currently, Dowdy is being held at the Central Virginia Regional Jail, and is scheduled to appear in Louisa County General District Court Oct. 28. The investigation was led by Albemarle County fire marshals.
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