December 21, 2009 6:40 PM
Graham Cawthon

KINGS MOUNTAIN – Police say a former postal worker on dialysis threatened to blow up the Kings Mountain post office Saturday if they didn’t give him their money.

Herbert George Moore, who will turn 64 on Wednesday, was taken into custody Saturday around 10:45 a.m. after postal workers called police and said Moore told them he planted a bomb and would blow up the Gold Street location if his demand for money wasn’t met.

Kings Mountain Police Cpl. J.T. McDougal said Moore, who is on dialysis and suffers from diabetes, was upfront with officers when they arrived and questioned him at the scene.

“He said he was waiting on his money or he would blow the place up,” McDougal said.

No explosive device was found but, McDougal said, a search warrant of Moore’s vehicle uncovered a loaded handgun.

Police have a prior address of Colonial Avenue, Gaffney, S.C., for Moore but it appeared that he might have been living out of his car.

“I would say he was homeless,” McDougal said. “He never expressed a motive to us other than he needed money.”

Could his poor health be a factor in the crime?

“He didn’t express that but you can infer that,” McDougal said.

McDougal said Moore previously worked for the U.S. Postal Service and told police that if he had been successful in robbing the post office then he would have moved on to another city and tried it again.

McDougal said quick work from the postal employees and officers led to a safe ending and fast apprehension of Moore.

“The post office did a really good job with the description of the suspect,” McDougal said.

Moore is charged with false bomb report upon a public building and armed robbery and is being held at the Cleveland County Detention Center with bond set at $500,000 secured.