Habitual felon sentenced after calling in bomb threat at NC courthouse

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. —

A man is headed to prison after calling in a bomb threat at the courthouse in Haywood County , North Carolina.

On Thursday, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced that 33-year-old Cody Blake Strickler pleaded guilty to calling in a bomb threat that forced authorities to evacuate the Haywood County Justice Center in Waynesville.

On March 19, Strickler called 911 dispatch and said, "The emergency is at the courthouse, the new one, there’s a bomb, C4, sausage links on detonators, remote switches, you need to evacuate the courthouse now."

In response, authorities asked that everyone in the building evacuate immediately. The Justice Center and Main Street were cordoned off. A handler with a K9 trained in explosive detection systematically swept the courthouse