Man Arrested for Placing Fake Bomb Near Washington Heights Hospital

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A homeless man has been arrested for placing a fake bomb near a Washington Heights hospital that shut down a block and put the facility on lockdown, police told Patch.

Louis Stratford, 56, has been charged with second-degree placing a false bomb or hazardous substance, police said. Stratford was arrested Tuesday after being identified from surveillance footage that showed him placing the hoax device by New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia on 168th Street and Broadway, police said.

The NYPD bomb squad was called to investigate a suspicious bag near the hospital's ambulance dock Monday night, police told Patch. The "bomb" turned out to be five cardboard tubes attached with black tape and topped with a computer board with a digital display, police said. Also in the bag, boxing and pornographic magazines, according to police.

The bag was found by a homeless man in the area, police told Patch. Kenneth Jackson stumbled upon the suspicious looking package and thought it resembled dynamite, so he tried alerting nearby officers, he told the Daily News.

"I said, 'Are you a real New York police officer?' He said, 'Yes, I am.' I said, 'Let me show you a bomb,'" Jackson told the Daily News.

A police spokeswoman could not confirm whether officers ignored Jackson's attempt to call their attention to the package.

Stratford appeared in court for the first time Wednesday, accourting to court records. A judge set Stratford's bail at $50,000, which has not been posted. He is due in court again on Oct. 3, according to records.

Photo: Patch