Arrest made in USPS bomb threat

He was arrested Sunday at his residence, according to a report from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

Joel Gillie, Wayne County public information officer, said the threat was made against the United States Postal Service.

“The sheriff’s office made this arrest on behalf of a case that the Postal Service inspectors were conducting,” said Gillie.

Philip Bogenberger, USPS spokesperson for North Carolina, deferred comment on Whaley’s arrest to the USPS Inspection Service. Jessica Adams, U.S. Postal Service inspector, declined to offer details about the case.

The date, time and location of the threat was not provided by the U.S. Postal Service or Wayne County sheriff’s deputies.

“On July 3, 2022 Larry Franklin Whaley Jr. was arrested by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office for a threat that was made to the U.S. Postal Service,” Adams said. “Specifics on this investigation can’t be answered at this time as it is still ongoing. I can confirm that no post offices were placed on lockdown and there was no disruption to the U.S. mail.”

N.C. Department of Public Safety records reveal Whaley has a history of convictions spanning 1992 to 2007 on charges, such as misdemeanor larceny, felony possession of a schedule II controlled substance, and misdemeanor larceny in Wayne, Durham, and Onslow counties.

His next appearance in the case is scheduled for July 21 in District Court.

While Whaley was arrested in his case, Wayne County law enforcement continues to look for the person responsible for making a bomb threat against Wayne Community College on Thursday.

The threat, which turned out to be a hoax, was reported to Goldsboro police at 11:50 a.m. Thursday, according to a police report.

No bomb was found and no one was injured.

“Representatives of Goldsboro Police Department, WCC’s police department, and others from the college investigated all aspects of the call and determined it was not credible,” said Tara Humphries, Wayne Community College public information officer. “Out of an abundance of caution, they inspected areas of the college that even vaguely resembled the caller’s message and found nothing.”

WCC bomb threat

Humphries confirmed WCC was one of at least 50 community colleges across North Carolina that received a bomb threat on the same day.

Among the other colleges that received the threat were Martin Community College in Williamston, Durham Tech community college in Durham, and Craven Community College in New Bern.

The threat made against Wayne Community College is the second in two months made to a major Wayne County institution.

A bomb threat that was called in to Wayne UNC Health Care on May 17 was ultimately found to be false.

Jessie Tucker, Wayne UNC Health Care president, said the threat, which was determined to be a hoax, started out as a robocall.

Tucker said the call came from a person alleging to be from customs and border patrol, and that a visitor named John Martin left a bomb in the hospital and then hung up.

Tucker said hospital staff and patients were never at any risk.

Hospital security, Goldsboro police and the Seymour Johnson Air Force base’s bomb squad brought in a bomb-sniffing dog to ensure no bomb was anywhere on the hospital campus.