A district judge bound over criminal charges to Carbon County Court of Common Pleas against a Lehighton man who barricaded himself 20 stories underground in a coal mine attraction in Lansford in May.

David Eisenhower, 43, appeared before District Judge Casimir Kosciolek Wednesday on charges of burglary, risking a catastrophe, criminal trespass, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, defiant trespass, two counts of criminal trespass, and three counts of terroristic threats.

He remains in the Carbon County Correctional Facility in lieu of $75,000 bail, following arraignment on additional charges last month.

Eisenhower broke into the historic No. 9 Coal Mine in Lansford, threatened to shoot workers and holed up deep underground for nearly 13 hours on May 25.

Eisenhower was represented by Chief Public Defender Paul Levy and District Attorney Michael Greek handled the prosecution.

Three people testified, including Lansford Detective Joshua Tom, Zach Petroski, president of the non-profit Panther Creek Valley Foundation, which runs the mine and museum; and Arthur Snyder, mine inspector for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Tom told the court he was called in to draw up charges on a John Doe, as the identity of the man inside the mine was unknown. He later saw Eisenhower, when he was brought up from the mine, and identified him in the courtroom.

Petroski told the court about two other break-ins at the mine, in which a lock was cut from the main entrance to the mine two days in a row. They also found evidence that someone had been inside, such as items moved and other things left behind, he said.

Surveillance cameras were then set up and caught someone going in and out again very early on May 25, and then going in and not coming back out, Petroski said.

The mine foreman, who inspects the mine daily, went into the mine and found smoke rising up, Petroski said. A state mine inspector, local police and others were then notified, he said.

After Eisenhower was brought out of the mine, Petroski said they found other items inside the mine, such as shoes, food debris, clothing, cans of food, cell phones and a large knife. There were also remnants of a fire, he said.

The tourist attraction, which would have been open for tours on May 25, lost more than $2,100 due to the break-ins, including wages, lost revenue and labor for repairs, Petroski said.

Snyder, a miner and inspector, testified that he and another man checked the mine’s safety due to the smoke condition and to see what was burning. They found tools, shoes, soup cans, and yelled to the person deeper in the mine on a lower level, he said.

The man told them not to come down or he would shoot them, Snyder said. He also told them he lit a fire to stay warm, the inspector said.

Snyder told the court there was a danger of a methane explosion due to the fire, and an underground mine fire, such as the one that burns under the town of Centralia, was possible if a coal seam ignited.

They attempted to get Eisenhower to cooperate and come out, Snyder said. He told them during this conversation that he was in the mine because someone was trying to shoot him, Snyder said.

At one point, he agreed to come out, Snyder said, telling them he wanted to hide the gun first. They waited and he didn’t come up, he said. The man then began threatening to shoot them again, and they left, turning the matter over to police, Snyder said.

The Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team was activated and assisted in bringing Eisenhower out of the mine, according to court papers. Carbon County Emergency Management personnel and county detectives were on scene as well.

State police and mine experts entered the mine after 2 p.m. and brought Eisenhower out just before 4:30 p.m.

Eisenhower emerged from the mine train car and walked to a waiting ambulance. He was taken to a hospital to be evaluated and treated for possible hypothermia, given the cold, wet conditions inside the mine.

After his arrest, police said they did not recover a gun.