A Henrico judge on Wednesday afternoon threw out a hoax bomb charge brought against a Richmond woman whose novelty alarm clock set off a panic after it was discovered in her car at the Short Pump Whole Foods parking lot in May.
General District Court Judge Matthew Nelson dismissed the case against Daphne Daedre Page, 52, finding there wasn't probable cause to certify the case to a grand jury.
Page had been charged with placing a hoax explosive device in order to "intentionally" cause others to believe it was a bomb.
Henrico Police said they were called to the Whole Foods around 5 p.m. on May 19 on a report of a bomb or suspicious package being found in a vehicle.
Police said they found the device — which investigators said had brown tubes resembling dynamite, wiring and a "count down timer" — sitting in plain sight in the back seat of Page's Mercedes, which was parked near the grocery store.
A police robot removed the faux device. Page was interviewed by police on the way back to her vehicle with a cart loaded with groceries.
Page, who said she didn't intend for the device to cause a panic, spent a weekend in jail on the charge.
David Stock, an asistant commonwealth's attorney for Henrico, said at the Wednesday court hearing that the device didn't appear to have been haphazardly tossed in among items in the back of the vehicle. Instead, it seemed to have been deliberately placed in plain view on a folded down back seat, the prosecutor said.
Jed Patterson, Page's attorney, however, noted there was no bomb threat called in and no note making any threat.
Page has said in interviews that she did not intend for the device, which she says she bought for $1 at a yard sale, to cause the stir it did.
The judge told prosecutors that his reasoning behind throwing out the charge is that he hadn't been presented with evidence proving that Page was the one who actually placed the device in the vehicle.
After the hearing, Page said she was pleased by the outcome. But the case may not be over.
Stock said prosecutors next month would seek to have a grand jury directly indict Page over the incident.
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