Charges for man in Gault bomb scare

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Travis County Sheriff’s Deputies charged a man in connection to a bomb scare that shut down the Travis County Criminal Justice Complex for four hours Friday.

Douglas Scott Hoopes, 48, faces state jail felony charges after authorities said he filed a false alarm or report.

Investigators said Hoopes walked into 509 West 11th St. with a bag at 9:40 a.m. Friday, passing through a metal detector before going to pretrial services and signing in.

Deputies said Hoopes then left his bag and left, telling a deputy he had left the bag inside and "there was a terrorist plot inside the bag," according to the arrest warrant.

Investigators detained Hoopes, and he reportedly told them he hoped to get reaction and cause alarm because he did not feel the judge was handling a civil case between he and his ex-wife fairly.

Investigators did not find anything harmful in the bag but did find a note that read, "IRS plane crash, Austin Texas," - presumably the "terrorist plot" Hoopes said he'd left in the bag.