Arpaio's Deputies Stage Apparent Courthouse Sick-Out on Heels of Jailing of MCSO Detention Officer Found in Contempt of Court

​It was mass confusion at the Maricopa County Courthouse today.

About 20 county Sheriff's Office deputies and detention officers called in sick, a possibly orchestrated "action" that wreaked havoc with courtroom schedules and the transportation of inmates from the county jail for hearings and other matters.

The sick-out, if that's truly what it was, came on the heels of today's incarceration of detention officer Adam Stoddard.

He's the guy who lifted allegedly suspicious documents from a defense attorney during a recent sentencing hearing, and now is being held indefinitely on a contempt-of-court charge for not apologizing in a press conference ordered by the county's presiding criminal judge, Gary Donahoe.

Adding to the confusion, somebody called in an unrelated bomb threat to the courthouse this mornng.

It came from a guy who apparently claimed to be upset with the county Public Defender's Office.

Authorities promptly evacuated the adjacent East and Central Court buildings and the surrounding streets, and searched for a few hours (thankfully to no avail) for the explosive device.