A Lehighton man has been charged with making a bomb threat at his place of employment.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Trooper Jared Christman of the Pennsylvania State Police, Fogelsville barracks, in the case against Zachary Keys:

At 11:24 a.m. Feb. 22, police were dispatched to Westport Axle at 8801 Congdon Hill Drive, Lower Macungie Township, for the report of a bomb threat.

The investigation revealed that a Westport Axle employee, identified as Keys, 29, notified supervisors that he found the message, “Bomb 12.00 to Blow” written in black ink on a wall inside the men’s bathroom within the building.

Keys had been employed by Westport Axle for about one week before the incident, and his supervisors said he had made several complaints about the warehouse operations during that short time.

When the threat was reported, Westport Axle evacuated the 95 employees.

Following the evacuation of the facility, two explosives searching K-9 teams from the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Capitol Police conducted a search of the facility.

No explosive devices or explosive device materials were located during the search.

Westport Axle, which daily distributes axles for Mack Trucks, stopped operations for about three and a half hours until the facility was determined to be safe.

Additionally, DHL (an international logistics company), which shares space within the same warehouse, was also evacuated due to the threat.

Keys consented to an interview at PSP Fogelsville and initially denied knowledge of who wrote the threat on the wall.

Upon further questioning, Keys admitted that he, alone, wrote the message on the bathroom wall at around 2:30 p.m. Feb. 21 to evaluate Westport Axle’s safety response to the threat.

When no employees reported the written threat on Feb. 21, Keys entered the bathroom on Feb. 22 after returning from his lunch break and subsequently notified his supervisors, who then contacted 911 and PSP Fogelsville.

Keys faces charges of bomb threats - reports or knowledge of a bomb, and disorderly conduct hazardous. He is currently free on $10,000 unsecured bail, and scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Thursday before District Judge Michael J. Faulkner of Allentown.