THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 6, 1995 TAG: 9505050075
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
IT JUST GOES TO show that you never know what will happen to you in a bus station.
David Noah, 46, was sitting in a Roanoke bus station on the evening of the Oklahoma bombing when police came in and arrested him for making bomb threats against the local federal building.
Then the state police blew up his suitcase.
Although innocent, Noah - a self-described ``drifter'' - refused to condemn police or the city for the mix-up, even though he spent a couple of days in jail.
``They gave me the best tank they had,'' Noah said. ``They knew they didn't have a criminal.
Noah, has been described as a pleasant man, about 6 feet tall, weighing 200 pounds. He was as shocked as the rest of the nation on April 19 when news of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City was flashed around the world.
After seeing the wreckage in Oklahoma City on the television set at a Roanoke pizzeria, Noah picked up the phone and placed a call to the local office of the FBI.
He told the agents he was a fugitive and had information about the blast.
Noah told the FBI that during his travels, he had met a man who called himself ``Steve McQueen.'' McQueen had talked about blowing up federal buildings, acquiring weapons and enlisting recruits, he explained.
When police entered the bus station on the evening of the 19th to pick up Noah, they mistakenly believed he had threatened to bomb the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke.
Then, unable to determine what was inside his suitcase after X-raying it, state police detonated it.
``Our office acted on inaccurate information,'' Roanoke police lieutenant W. J. Beason said. ``But it's better to err on the side of caution.''
State Police special agent Gus Necessary said bomb investigators were called in when several objects in the suitcase could not be identified using X-rays. A state police bomb squad later placed a charge on the suitcase and detonated it in a Roanoke street. The unidentifiable objects, found after the suitcase was exploded, included steak knives and a hunting knife.
Necessary said state police policy is to detonate a suspicious package ``if you cannot see into a box. . . and you believe there could be something in there that could injure you dearly. We strictly adhere to that (policy). You're not allowed too many mistakes.''
Noah's arrest and the destruction of his suitcase were blamed on faulty communication between federal and local officers.
Word of a bomb threat spread around Roanoke and some federal workers stayed home from work the morning after Noah's arrest, because of the false bomb threat.
Noah spent two days in Roanoke City Jail where police learned he was wanted on a petty theft charge in Florida. Florida police showed no interest in extradition.
After release from jail, a friend he met at the bus station gave Noah a place to stay for a couple of days after learning his ``clothes get blown up.''
For his troubles, Noah received $325 from the city: reimbursement for an American Tourister suitcase, a pair of expensive work boots and some clothes damaged during the detonation.
Before leaving Roanoke, Noah, sat in a local tavern with a frosty mug of beer in his hand and the check under his arm.
``They were sorry for what happened,'' he said. ``Someone got their wires crossed. If you were to go to New York City, they wouldn't be that nice. . . . I love the people here. I wish I could stay.''
Roanoke Times & World-News reporter Diane Struzzi, who saw Noah before he left the city, described him as a person who fancies himself a man about town who knows underworld types in many cities.
Struzzi said Noah phoned her newspaper early this week from Kansas City.
``He phoned to say that he knew who John Doe No. 2 was and had seen him,'' she said. ``He was hoping to collect the $2 million reward.''
She didn't sound surprised. by CNB