Authorities arrested a contract worker at Honda in Marysville Thursday afternoon and charged him with inducing panic, a felony, over a bomb threat that shut down the auto manufacturer's sprawling campus for several hours on Wednesday. Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton said Jeffery H. Martinez, 30 of Bellefontaine, admitted to detectives that he wrote the threat on a bathroom wall on Tuesday. Investigators don't have a motive, Patton said.

Authorities arrested a contract worker at Honda in Marysville Thursday afternoon and charged him with inducing panic, a felony, over a bomb threat that shut down the auto manufacturer's sprawling campus for several hours on Wednesday.

Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton said Jeffery H. Martinez, 30 of Bellefontaine, admitted to detectives that he wrote the threat on a bathroom wall on Tuesday. Investigators don't have a motive, Patton said.

Martinez is a contractor employed by NEX Transport, Inc., Patton said.

He's being held at the Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg.

Patton said prosecutors will review the case and other charges could be added.

Someone found the threat at the Marysville Auto Plant just after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and Honda officials decided to send everyone home and clear the area. Patton then consulted with the Franklin County sheriff's office, which decided, based on the size of the plant and the magnitude of the threat, that bomb-sniffing dogs and crews would be brought in from as far away as Cleveland State University Police Department and the Bowling Green State University to help with a sweep of the property. No explosives were found.

Patton said that Honda's early estimate on losses from the down time is at least $500,000. He said that as the case moves forward, law enforcement will ask to recoup its costs of the investigation from Martinez, and prosecutors will also seek to recover Honda's lost income.

Honda issued a statement about the arrest late Thursday afternoon: "Honda is appreciative of the swift work by law enforcement officials and pleased that a suspect is now in custody. We will continue to fully cooperate with authorities and prosecutors in this case."

Martinez is due in court Friday morning.

hzachariah@dispatch.com

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