A trial for a Baltimore man accused of leaving a toilet made to look like a bomb outside a county building has been postponed.
Duane Davis Sr., 51, was scheduled to stand trial Tuesday in Baltimore County, The Baltimore Sun reported. Davis was charged in February after allegedly placing a phony destructive device outside the old courthouse building in Towson that now houses the offices of the county executive and council.
Davis fired his lawyer, saying the lawyer hadn’t provided Davis with all the documents he needed for the trial, and asked for a postponement to prepare for trial with another attorney. A new trial is set for Sept. 13.
The toilet was decorated with newspaper clippings and photos, and had a cell phone, electronic device and note signed by Davis attached to it. County bomb squad investigators determined it was harmless, The Sun reported.
Davis, known to his friends as Shorty, has a history of protesting political figures and institutions, and the toilet he admits to leaving on a Towson street was designed, he said, as a "gift" to Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott D. Shellenberger. He said after today's hearing that he had left similar porcelain gifts to other officials and politicians.
"The toilet is my trademark," he said. "Just like NBC got the peacock, I got the toilet."
Davis was charged with two felonies under state laws addressing items that could be explosive or dangerous or are made to appear to be dangerous. Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, The Sun reported.
