Gibbons gets powder scare letter in Vegas; Carson City package suspicious

By Jeff German, Cy Ryan

Published Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 | 10:51 a.m.

Updated Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 | 3:15 p.m.

The Las Vegas office of Gov. Jim Gibbons received a letter Friday morning from Texas with a white powdery substance similar to letters sent to governors in more than a dozen states, a top state official confirmed. At about noon, authorities ended their investigation after determining the substance was no longer a threat.

"All indications are that it's one of these letters coming out of Texas," said Nevada Public Safety Director Jerry Hafen.

Friday afternoon, Carson City also received a suspicious envelope. The 4-by-5 inch manila envelope arrived at the state’s mail room, addressed to former Gov. Kenny Guinn.

The mail room and more than 100 employees in the adjoining state Department of Education were evacuated about 1 p.m. Fire department vehicles and law enforcement were at the scene.

The evacuation lasted several hours. Cpl. Randal Smith of the Capitol Police said it was unknown the substance contained in the envelope.

Scott Jackson, chief of the Department of Public Safety, said the contents of the envelope would be analyzed.

“We didn’t want to take any chances,” he said.

Authorities declined to say what city in Texas the envelope originated from or the name on the return address.

In Las Vegas, authorities kept everyone inside the Grant Sawyer state government building at Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue during the investigation, Hafen said.

The letter, Hafen said, had a Dallas-Fort Worth post mark. The white substance in the previous letters to the other governors ended up being baby powder or corn starch, he said.

The FBI has been investigating the appearance of the letters around the country.

Meanwhile, authorities gave the clear signal about 10:25 a.m. Friday at the Regional Justice Center, where police and courthouse marshals investigated an anonymous threat to shoot a judge.

A call was received by Metro Police warning that a judge was going to be shot.

Metro Police showed up in force and, along with the marshals, searched the 17-story courthouse for about a half-hour, but found no one with a weapon.

During this time, the Regional Justice Center remained under lockdown and no one was allowed to enter the building. All judges, their employees and their courtroom participants were locked in their courtrooms until the threat was investigated.