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Louisa County authorities are looking for a woman suspected of making courthouse bomb threats in three area localities to avoid appearing in court.
Danielle Antoinette Messineo, 38, of Harper Drive in Orange County is wanted for failing to appear before a Louisa court March 20.
She had been scheduled to appear in Louisa General District Court March 13 on a bad-check charge, but a bomb threat was received that day and the courthouse was evacuated, according to Louisa officials. Authorities said an investigation revealed that the threat came from a phone belonging to Messineo.
Messineo was arrested the same day and sent to the Central Virginia Regional Jail. She was later released on a $10,000 secured bond. When she failed to show up in court March 20, a warrant was issued for her arrest.
A previous investigation tied Messineo to bomb threats in three localities.
After a bomb threat was made against the Louisa General District Court on Aug. 4, 2011, Louisa detectives launched an investigation. The probe led to contact with detectives from Orange and Culpeper counties who were investigating similar bomb threats in their jurisdictions.
A meeting was arranged between detectives Mark Stanton of Louisa, Amy Ressler of Orange and W.O. Hayes of Culpeper to compare the cases. They discovered that Messineo was scheduled to be in court in each of the localities on the days the threats were made.
"As a result of the combined efforts of the Louisa, Orange and Culpeper sheriff's offices, we were able to plan for her next move and make an arrest accordingly," Stanton said.
Deputies were prepared to expect a bomb threat on March 13, and arrested Messineo. Since she was released, however, authorities have not been able to find her.
She is known to have lived in Culpeper, Orange and Madison counties. She has faced several charges, including fraud, credit-card theft, writing bad checks and threatening to bomb or burn a building.
Her next court appearance in Louisa is scheduled for May 8.
Anyone with information about these cases or Messineo's whereabouts is asked to call the Louisa County Sheriff's Office at 540/
Portsia Smith: 540/374-5419
Email: psmith@fredericksburg.com
