Kane County judges on alert after bomb threat

Security at the Kane County courthouse remained tight Thursday after police said they arrested a man -- armed with a homemade bomb -- who threatened the entire judicial system, including two specific judges.

David H. Watts Jr. was being held on a $500,000 bond in the DuPage County jail on charges of felony possession of explosives. Prosecutors said they may pursue further charges at indictment.

Watts, 40, had several run-ins with police in recent months, court records revealed. But it was an incident early Tuesday that sparked immediate action in the St. Charles Township judicial facility, authorities said.

At 9 a.m. New Year's Day, West Chicago officer Anthony Quarto was patrolling the 1000 block of West Roosevelt Road when a man sitting in a truck outside the Teamsters Local Union 673 office caught his eye.

Upon investigation, authorities said the officer found Watts inside the truck donning camouflage clothing and full face paint. They said Watts also wore an empty gun holster and had a knife tucked in his waistband.

Watts made several nonsensical homicidal ramblings against everyone from rapists to judges to sheriff's police, officials said. Police called for an ambulance, which took Watts to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield for observation.

Afterward, officers began searching his truck. Authorities said they smelled a strong odor of gasoline and found a bottle filled with gas that had what appeared to be a wick sticking out the top. Police said several fireworks were taped to the bottle, which was next to a larger container that also looked suspicious.

Officers evacuated the immediate area and alerted the bomb squad. Experts determined the bottle was an incendiary device. They rendered it useless a short time later. No one was injured.

Authorities said they also found inside the truck Kane County court papers and Watts' written ramblings alleging judicial hypocrisy and targeting specific judges who handled his cases.

Police in West Chicago alerted Kane County sheriff's officials, who called Chief Judge Donald C. Hudson at home New Year's Day. The judge said he immediately notified the appropriate authorities, including a state terrorist center and the Illinois Supreme Court, which is protocol.

"We're in a heightened state of alert," Hudson said Thursday. "We increased our security measures and everything went very smoothly."

This isn't Watts' first run-in with the law. Police arrested him more than a half-dozen times in the past year -- mostly during a two-week period in May -- on charges alleging criminal trespass, violating an order of protection, sleeping in the park and twice battering a woman who was staying at the same Aurora homeless shelter, court records showed. The order of protection involved his ex-wife in Aurora.

On Dec. 30, police said an irate Watts showed up at the Aurora Police Department and accused officers of stealing from him. He was not arrested, but the incident alarmed the staff enough to take other action.

"His statements were very bizarre and he didn't make sense," said Dan Ferrelli, a police spokesman. "His actions were aggressive enough that we made up fliers with his picture and distributed it to all police officers and our front desk just in case he came back."

After his release from the hospital, Watts was taken to the DuPage County jail. He remained there Thursday. If convicted, he may face up to 30 years in prison.

"Every threat against a public official, private or public facility is taken very seriously," DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said.

A bill is pending in Washington, D.C., aimed at ensuring the safety of the nation's judges, their families and other court personnel. The proposed law stiffens criminal penalties and is a direct response to the murders of the mother and husband of U.S. Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow in 2005 in Chicago.