Alleged Boston bomb scare hoaxer pleads not guilty

The man who prompted a bomb scare in downtown Boston on Friday has been charged in connection with the hoax.

James Derepentigny, 50, was in Boston Municipal Court Friday where he pleaded not guilty to planting a hoax device thought to be a bomb next to a Department of Homeland Security cruiser on Friday. He was arrested in Lawrence hours later.

Derepentigny has a lengthy criminal record and history of mental health issues, according to police, who said the hoax was an isolated incident that he carried out alone and was not tied to any larger body of terrorism.

Boston’s Atlantic Avenue was shut down Friday as a bomb squad detonated a suspicious package at 11:50 a.m. on Friday. The blast could be heard all throughout the financial district near the waterfront.

The object, a suitcase, was dropped near a U.S. Coast Guard facility, Boston Police Commissioner Williams Evans said. The suitcase contained wiring and a power source, Evans said. A man who appeared to be in his 40s was caught on camera dropping the briefcase and hurrying away.

Derepentignyis being held on $50,000 bail. Heis due back in court on January 4.