A 51-year-old Baltimore man with a history of railing at political figures of all ideological stripes has been arrested and accused of leaving a fake "destructive device" � a toilet decorated with newspaper clippings, an electronic transmitter and a cell phone � Monday outside a former courthouse in Towson.

Court documents say Duane G. Davis has also been charged with making a false statement about the device. He is being held in lieu of $200,000 bond.

The discovery of the toilet outside the former courthouse � which now houses the County Council chambers and some of the county's administrative offices � triggered a shutdown of surrounding streets and the attentions of a bomb disposal squad. It was found to be harmless.

Davis denied in an interview with The Baltimore Sun on Monday that he had left the toilet, but in a subsequent telephone conversation said it had been placed there by his "supporters."

A statement of probable cause says "several photographs of a subject as well as a hand-written note signed by Duane G. Davis" and accompanied by his address on the 1400 block of Lochner Road were attached to the toilet. A county police officer recognized the man in the photos as Davis "through previous contacts."

Earlier on Monday, at 6:43 a.m., Davis wrote on his Facebook page: "Left my Toilet at the Baltimore County Courthouse. Also left a kite of Knowledge. Secrets will not Block Justice."

Davis, who owns a restaurant in Upperco and calls himself Shorty, also wrote that he was "leaving material at the Basilica," an apparent reference to a bedpost that an Archdiocese of Baltimore spokesman confirmed had been left near the entrance to the prayer garden of the Baltimore Basilica. A mobile phone and news clippings were attached.

"Say if you have a problem, give it to GOD," the Facebook posting went on. "Well we gonna see what the Catholic Church does for Shorty. New Psalmist closed the doors of the Church on me because I named Con Cummings as a Judas. And just like Moses I'm marking the Doors of the people and I asking to give up my citizenship. Don't want to live in a Country of White Justice and Black Justice while you promote equality across the Airwaves. Get Shorty. Well Maryland you got more of me than you really want to deal with. This is a REAL GHETTO STORY."

Davis is scheduled to appear in Baltimore County District Court for a preliminary hearing on March 4.

 

 

 

LINK TO PHOTOS: