
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 13, 1993                   TAG: 9311130098
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

MAN THREATENS HOSPITAL STAFF, DEMANDS ATTENTION

A Martinsville man walked into Montgomery Regional Hospital on Friday afternoon, locked himself into a bathroom stall in the main lobby and threatened harm to the staff if he did not receive medical attention, authorities say.

Gene Wright, hospital administrator, said the man had been at the hospital's emergency room the previous evening complaining of pain, Wright said. Wright was unsure what the man's demands were, but one note he sent out said he was armed and wanted to see a doctor.

Wright said the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office was called and that the man surrendered after about an hour. No one was injured.

Sgt. Dennis Rakes said Ralph Hale, 47, sent the first note to one of the nurses. The note threatened harm to the hospital staff if he did not receive immediate attention, Rakes said.

Montgomery County sheriff's deputies, Blacksburg and state police and Blacksburg fire and rescue squads were called to the hospital about 1:15 p.m.

"We took the note that was left very seriously," Rakes said.

Rakes said Hale sent out a second note "indicating the possibility of an explosive" but no bomb was found. Authorities found out that Hale was armed with a hunting knife.

The first floor of the hospital was evacuated for a short time, but Wright said there were no major problems and other hospital entrances were available for the public to use.

"The threat was minimal," Rakes said, but evacuating the floor and calling for emergency back-up "was a precautionary measure on our part."

Rakes said Hale had sought medical attention for general pain at the hospital three times in the 12 hours preceding the threats and "didn't feel he was receiving adequate attention."

He said Hale was a veteran, that he had been drinking, and appeared to be "somewhat unstable" Friday afternoon. Hale apparently had been unsuccessful in an attempt to check himself in at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem, Rakes said.

Lt. Tommy Whitt said Friday afternoon that Hale was being taken to Saint Albans Psychiatric Hospital in Pulaski County.

by CNB