Anchorage Daily News

NOATAK -- A man accused of locking people inside a bingo hall and threatening to burn it down is being held without bail on charges of assault, terroristic threatening and kidnapping, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Robert Penn, 50, walked into the bingo hall at about 1 p.m. Tuesday and threatened about a dozen people inside, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said. Many of them left in the initial commotion, but five people remained inside when he locked the door with a padlock and chain, she said.

Penn then left the area and the people inside were able to escape by passing a key through a bathroom vent to witnesses on the outside who opened the door, Peters said. No one was injured; the building was not set on fire.

Troopers arriving a few hours later initially could not find Penn and began scouring the surrounding wilderness.

The suspect was subsequently found walking back into town and was taken into custody without incident near the airstrip, Peters said. Penn told troopers he locked the building as a "practical joke" in response to one previously played on him, she said. Alcohol was not involved.

Penn was charged with four counts each of assault and terroristic threatening and five counts of kidnapping. He is being held at the Kotzebue jail.

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