- *not the actual dummy/photo throwthings.com
By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON – Jerry Smolinsky may be no dummy, but he was pretty close to one on Friday.
The 55-year-old ventriloquist was riding in a cab Friday morning in Arlington, Va., with his dummy in tow, when he told the driver he had explosives and was on his way to the White House, according to a law enforcement source.
The cab driver called his dispatcher who phoned authorities, the law enforcement source said. D.C. police stopped the cab at 17th and C Streets NW, not far from the White House.
U.S. Secret Service agents interviewed Smolinsky, who confessed that he had no explosives and that he just wanted to get a rise out of law enforcement, the source said.
He was arrested and charged with a felony threat. He was expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. No word on the whereabouts of his dummy as of Friday night.
Smolinsky, a former computer programmer, who is originally from California, has been living out of hotels around the country, the source said.
I am Jerry’s sister. Will you be following this story? If so, is there any way that you could you keep me informed about what is happening? Thank you.
Sandy