A note suggesting a bomb threat and that was found on the dashboard of a car parked in front of The Marietta Daily Journal office Wednesday has led to the arrest of an East Cobb man.
Gary S. Studenic, 70, was booked in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center Wednesday afternoon on a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct, according to the Marietta Police Department.
According to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, Studenic’s home address is on Bill Murdock Road, and he was arrested at 12:15 p.m.
Police said an unoccupied black Porsche was parked in front of 47 Waddell Street at 10:10 Wednesday morning with a sign on the dashboard that stated in part: “will explode on contact.”
That’s near the Marietta Square, and it’s the address of the MDJ, which evacuated the premises, as did those in other nearby buildings, according to police.
Police said they established a perimeter around the vehicle as they investigated, and asked the Cobb Police Department to dispatch its bomb squad to the scene.
At 10:40 a.m., the registered owner of the car, whom police said is Studenic, walked from a building on the Square to the Porsche, and when he arrived said the note was a joke among friends.
The note said at the top: “NOTICE OF EXPLOSIVE INSTALLATION” and further stated in the text that “it has been modified to explode on contact. A nominal fee of $10,000 will be collected at time explosive charges are removed,” according to the MDJ.
Police said Studenic told them he didn’t realize he had placed the note in public view and in front of a newspaper office.
Police said the man who wrote the note, Richard Calhoun of Marietta, arrived at 11:11 a.m. The Cobb bomb squad inspected the car and found no explosives.
Marietta Police said Studenic went to their headquarters and was interviewed, and was charged with reckless conduct, which carries a bond of $250. Calhoun was not charged.
Studenic is the president of the Pain Relief Clinic, a chiropractic practice on South Marietta Parkway.
The MDJ moved to the Waddell Street building last summer, after selling its 50-year-old facility on Fairground Street to the Cobb County School District.
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