Orange man faces ‘hoax weapon’ charges

By Brandon Shulleeta

Published: September 24, 2008

A Gordonsville man is facing felony charges of using a “hoax weapon to intimidate” after authorities accused him of putting a suspicious white powder on signs criticizing his former employer.

Mark Ryland Dowdy had a dispute with management at his former place of employment, Klockner Pentaplast outside of Gordonsville in Louisa County, “over a leave of absence,” a search warrant affidavit states. Since then, signs calling for a boycott of the business — laced with a substance identified as benzoyl benzoate — were found near Klockner’s facility, according to court records.

“And naturally, when he did that, it invoked fear on the workforce at the Klockner facility,” said Maj. Donald A. Lowe of the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s our belief that he did that to intimidate.”

The search warrant affidavit, prepared by Albemarle Fire Marshal Bill Clark, states that the powder “potentially could have” consisted of agents such as anthrax or Ricin.

“The signs were brought to the Gordonsville Police Department at the Gordonsville Town Hall. ... Due to the presence of the white powder, the Gordon-sville building was evacuated and a Virginia State Police Hazardous Material Response was requested,” the affidavit states.

Benzoyl benzoate is an easily prepared compound used in lice and mite killer.

Dowdy, who is in custody, faces five charges in Albemarle County and one in Louisa County.  Albemarle fire marshals have led the county’s investigation. 

Dowdy, 37, ceased working at Klockner about five years ago, according to the affidavit, which says he alleged interference with a contractual agreement “that caused him irreversible damage and invasion of privacy.”

Several signs have been found in the past several weeks near the Klockner facility, Lowe said. Lowe said he believes all of the signs with the white powder substance have been removed.

The signs advocated a boycott of Klockner, and a MySpace Web page appeared to support those views, the affidavit said. Klockner’s attorney sent Dowdy a letter, dated Sept. 5, that asked Dowdy to stay off Klockner property and discontinue contact with management.

Dowdy responded to the attorney with often-profane voicemails and e-mail, according to the affidavit.

The MySpace Web page stated, “Silly Klockner, the police can’t save you, your attorney can’t save you, my space can’t save you, no one can save you. Trust me, I’ve been preparing for five years to shut you down and I will always be one step ahead of you,” according to the affidavit.