St. Louis man charged with posting bomb threats before World Series

10/30/2013

Prosecutors have charged a St. Louis man with a misdemeanor for posting bomb threats on Twitter as the city prepared to host World Series baseball games, officials said on Wednesday.

Robert Metzinger, 30, is accused of making threatening references to the fatal bombing at the Boston Marathon last April and the use of a pressure cooker in that explosion, said a probable cause statement issued by St. Louis police on Wednesday.

“In one tweet, the defendant made an implied threat to use an explosive device in or around the area of Busch Stadium during the upcoming World Series,” said a statement posted on Wednesday on the St. Louis circuit attorney's website.

Police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said, “At no time during our investigation were fans and visitors in the region at risk of harm.”

The St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Boston Red Sox in World Series games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The series to decide the championship of Major League Baseball moved back to Boston on Wednesday.

Police arrested Metzinger on Friday. He was charged with a Class A misdemeanor on Monday and released on $10,000 bond, according to police and court records. A judge ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation and appear in court again on Nov. 22. No lawyer was listed in court records. (Reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City, Mo.; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Peter Cooney)