Adams County District Attorney Brian Sinnett announced Thursday that felony charges have been filed against Samson Paul Yohe, 27, of Carlisle Street Gettysburg, for his alleged actions in throwing an incendiary device at a window of the Adams County Courthouse on December 22, 2019. The device broke the window but did not ignite.
Bottle used in the firebomb attack (Courtesy Gettysburg Police Dept.)
Yohe is charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, causing or risking catastrophe, arson, and arson of a historical resource. He is being held on $500,000 bail.
According to police, the device thrown at the window was a yellow bottle, antique in appearance, filled with a liquid and covered with a white cotton sock with an elastic top. Also in the bottle were green-tipped matches.
Surveillance videos from before and after the event, which occurred at about 11:00 p.m., showed an individual in the area wearing dark shoes with a light colored design on the front and a white sole. The individual had on loose fitting blue jeans, a black jacket, a mask covering part of their face, and a black hoodie. The individual was seen carrying a gray backpack with black accents.
During an investigation of the crime, Yohe was observed at the rear of 128 Carlisle St, Gettysburg, by Gettysburg police officers Bryan Holden and Dillan Kuhn. Yohe was wearing shoes that appeared identical in pattern and appearance to the shoes seen in the video, as well as loose fitting blue jeans and a camouflage mask that covered the bottom portion of his face.
A court-approved search of Yohe’s residence found a pair of shoes with the same pattern as the individual on the video and a backpack with the same pattern the individual on the video was carrying. The backpack contained boxes of green tipped matches and a bottle of lighter fluid. During the search police observed many glass antique bottles similar to the one used in the commission of the offense.
Sinnett thanked the Gettysburg Borough Police who he said “conducted a quick and thorough investigation in which they were assisted by the Adams County Detectives and agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”
Sinnett also thanked members of the public “for their diligence in making referrals to law enforcement and in sharing information.”
“This appears to have been an isolated incident conducted by a single perpetrator at this time. Although many components of this investigation are still taking place and every effort to turn over every bit of evidence will be exhausted, it is comforting to know that law enforcement acted so expediently in bringing charges in this case,” said Sinnett.
Sinnett also indicated that “although these charges are extremely serious and carry with them potential penalties of several decades in prison, as a community we are thankful that no one was injured in this inexcusable act.”
In this case, as with all criminal prosecutions, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.