A Canandaigua man was arrested late last month after causing a bomb scare that shut down parts of the city for hours.
Houston Fountaine, 40, was taken into custody on May 31 and charged with one count of falsely reporting an incident in the second degree, according to a statement from the City of Canandaigua Police Department.
The night before, on May 30 around 11:00 p.m., police responded to a report of a suspicious man walking in the roadway near North Main Street and West Gibson Street. Witnesses said he was carrying a briefcase and claimed to have a bomb.
Fountaine was apprehended at the scene. Officers, along with the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office and New York State Police, located the briefcase near a nearby church and established a secure perimeter. The Monroe County Bomb Squad was called in and later determined the briefcase was not a threat.
Residents in the area were instructed to shelter in place during the incident, which restricted both pedestrian and vehicle traffic for approximately two hours.
Fountaine was transported to the Ontario County Jail for arraignment at CAP Court.
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