A man suspected in a potential threat that led to a lockdown last week at St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center was arrested Thursday in Twin Falls, but was released on bond the following day.
After two days of lockdown, heightened security was suspended at the hospital Friday morning after word was received that the man was in custody. It was not reinstated later because a patient involved in the potential threat was no longer at the facility.
"Everything is just back to normal," hospital spokeswoman Tanya Keim said Tuesday. "The patient had been released on Friday, so it all sort of happened at the same time."
Bryce Deon Amos, a 31-year-old Twin Falls resident, is suspected of sending a potentially threatening cell phone text message on Wednesday, March 3, to his estranged wife who was attending to the couple's infant child, a patient at the facility.
According to the Blaine County Sheriff's Office, the text message stated "I know where you are" and was perceived as a possible threat against the woman, who has a civil no-contact order in place against Amos.
The sheriff's office on Thursday evening procured an arrest warrant alleging misdemeanor violation of a no-contact order and forwarded the warrant that night to the Twin Falls Police Department.
Twin Falls police Lt. Craig Stotts said Friday that Amos was notified of paperwork from Blaine County waiting for him at the police station and he came in and voluntarily surrendered.
Amos spent the night in the Twin Falls County Jail but was released the following day after posting $5,000 bond. No date had been set by Tuesday for his arraignment in Blaine County Magistrate Court.
According to Twin Falls County court records, Amos has misdemeanor convictions for domestic battery in 2006 and 2007 and is currently on probation for a 2009 felony conviction of possession of a controlled substance.
Records further state that Amos' wife filed for divorce in December. She is now residing in Hailey, but it is not clear how long she has been in Blaine County.
The potential threat at the hospital also led to heightened security Thursday at Hailey and Woodside elementary schools, where Amos' wife has children enrolled.
Scott Manning, the Blaine County School District safety director, implemented "perimeter code yellow" security measures at the schools on Thursday but did not reinstate the measures Friday after he learned Amos had been arrested.
Manning said Tuesday that even though Amos has been released, heightened security measures are not in place at the schools, but authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation.
"The schools know what he looks like and they're getting a copy of the protection order from the estranged wife," Manning said. "He's not allowed on campus, and they're just keeping an eye out for him.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Bryce Deon Amos
