ALFRED — A bomb threat phoned into the Gray dispatch center of the Maine Public Safety Department at 8:40 a.m. Monday proved to be unfounded.

The threat shut down state court operations for the entire day, forcing staff to try and reschedule cases. York County government employees who work in the county-owned court building spent the morning at the county government center on Route 4 and returned to work at the courthouse in 12:30 p.m.

Maine State Police and York County Sheriff’s deputies arrived quickly at the scene. The threat caused Maine’s judicial marshals, who are in charge of court security, to order the building, parking lot and some surrounding areas to be evacuated. Bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to search the vast court building.

Mary Ann Lynch, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts, said inmates who had been taken to court to make a first appearance were returned to York County Jail.

A court clerk returned to the court building Monday afternoon, after it had been cleared to try and reschedule cases, said Lynch. Jurors were told to call in by 10:30 a.m. today for instructions.

York County Sheriff Maurice Ouellette said the threat is under investigation.

A person who communicates a bomb threat that causes evacuation of a public building may be charged with Class C felony terrorizing, which, upon conviction, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to Maine criminal statutes.

Ouellette said law enforcement and other first responders have a specific protocol to follow in the event of a bomb threat or other emergency. As well as county and state law enforcement agencies, the county’s emergency management agency personnel responded, the York County Command Van was put in place, and Alfred Fire Department, Maine Department of Transportation and others also responded.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.