BIDDEFORD — Hoping to delay incarceration, one man paid his accomplice with heroin to make a bomb threat to the York County Superior Courthouse in Alfred in February, according to the York County Sheriff’s Office.

Both men, Brett Stroud, 26, of Saco and Gilbert Perez, 30, of Acton, have been charged in the crime.

On Friday, Sheriff Maurice Ouellette and Dep. Chief William “Bill” King laid out the circumstances regarding the investigation and charges against two men in relation to the bomb threat that disrupted court proceedings and closed the historic court house for much of the day on Feb. 10.

The York County Sheriff’s Office, Alfred Fire Department, Maine State Police and the Maine Judicial Marshal Service responded to the report of the threat on that day, and no bomb was found.

Stroud has entered a guilty plea to a Class C felony charge of terrorizing causing an evacuation. He is awaiting sentencing and faces a maximum sentence of five years and up to a $5,000 fine and restitution.

Perez, who is currently serving time at the York County Jail in Alfred on an unrelated charge, has also been charged with a Class C felony charge of terrorizing causing an evacuation. His arraignment at the Alfred courthouse scheduled for Friday was delayed.

The bomb threat came in to the Gray Dispatch Center at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 10, said King; the caller stated that a bomb had been placed in the Alfred courthouse.

The courthouse was evacuated, court was canceled and county services were disrupted, he said. County workers returned to the courthouse at 12:30 p.m. after bomb-sniffing dogs searched the building and no bomb was found.

“After an exhaustive investigation, which included a review of the scheduled court proceedings, interviews and analysis of the audio recordings, the York County Sheriff’s Office investigators were able to hone in on two suspects,” said King.

“Stroud called in the bomb threat at the urging of Gilbert Perez, and Perez provided Stroud with heroin to make the telephone call,” said King. “The investigation further concluded that Perez urged (Stroud) to make the bomb threat, watched him make the call, and supervised the destruction of the cellphone.”

Perez became a person of interest early in the investigation, said King.

On Feb. 10, Perez was scheduled to be sentenced on an aggravated assault charge, said King, and “the bomb threat was made to stall his incarceration.”

At an earlier date, Perez had pled guilty to assaulting a man in Lebanon. The man required several surgeries as a result of the beating he received by Perez, police reported.

Ouellette said that Perez wanted to go to New York on the day he was to be sentenced.

Perez is currently in jail on the assault charge, said Ouellette. He could be released soon for good behavior, unless he is found guilty of the charges related to the bomb threat before that time.

King said Stroud and Perez were identified after an investigation led by Det. Bill Vachon of the sheriff’s office. He said numerous interviews were conducted, cellular technology was analyzed and surveillance videos were reviewed.

Ouellette said the threat on the courthouse, which was built in 1806 and is one of the oldest courthouse’s in Maine, “was a high priority” for his office.

Resolving the bomb threat case was important, said King, not only because “our criminal justice system was attacked,” but also because “a lot of county and state workers were afraid.”

In addition, he said, as result of the threat, there is a minimum cost to taxpayers of $25,000.

According to the York County Jail, records going back until 2010 for York County show that Stroud has served time in the jail for a variety of charges and convictions including burglary, theft and violating probation.

During that same time frame in York County, Perez has only been incarcerated for the aggravated assault charge for which he is currently serving time.

Because the York County District Attorney’s Office was directly affected by the bomb threat, the Maine Office of the Attorney General will prosecute the case.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com. Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells contributed to this report.