Charges filed against suspect in Wright-Patt breach

Former neighbor describes Edward J. Novak as a ‘nice kid.’


This newspaper has aggressively pursued each detail of the Nov. 24 Wright-Patterson security breach, which caused the evacuation of employees from two buildings, shut down roads, and caused a combined federal, state and local law enforcement response to the incident. Look for further developments in print and online at daytondailynews.com and mydaytondailynews.com.

A suspect who faces federal charges on allegations he ran a security gate and entered a controlled-access building at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was described as a “nice kid” who was highly intelligent and once tested to join the ranks of Dayton Area Mensa, according to a long-time family neighbor.

Authorities have filed charges in federal court that allege Edward J. Novak, 32, of Beavercreek drove away at a gate checkpoint and got inside a controlled-access research area at Wright-Patterson on Nov. 24. The breach led to the evacuation of employees in two buildings, according to authorities and court records.

The defendant was expected to face an arraignment in the weeks ahead before federal Magistrate Judge Michael J. Newman in U.S. District Court in Dayton, according to court records.

Federal authorities filed eight counts Wednesday against Novak, including trespassing, assault, operating a vehicle under the influence, inducing panic, making false alarms, failure to comply with a lawful order, fleeing and eluding a police officer, and disorderly conduct.

Court records did not list an attorney for Novak.

“After reviewing all the facts and consulting with our attorneys, we felt filing these charges is in the best interest of the Air Force and the safety of all Wright-Patt employees,” Col. John M. Devillier, base commander, said in a statement Wednesday.

This newspaper attempted to reach the suspect at what was believed to be his residence but no one answered knocks at the door or immediately returned phone messages Wednesday.

‘Nice kid, polite’

Thomas J. Feller, 73, said he has lived next door to the suspect’s family for 25 years in a quiet residential neighborhood of brick homes in Beavercreek. The retired director of the YMCA of Greene County said he was “very surprised” to hear of the allegations and described Novak in his younger years as a “fairly typical teenager” who was a “nice kid, polite.”

“I wouldn’t expect him to be involved in anything at all out of the ordinary,” Feller said. “Anything kooky, anything weird. Not at all.”

Novak once tested and qualified for Dayton Area Mensa, a high-level intellectual group, Feller said.

“I do know that he’s pretty intelligent,” Feller said. “I happened to be the testing officer for a while for Dayton Mensa and Eddie tested and his mom told me later that he did qualify.”

As a teenager, Novak would swim in the Fellers’ family pool or play basketball in the driveway with his sons, Feller recalled Wednesday.

“He was probably quieter than most, but not a strange quiet or a weird quiet or anything,” Feller said. “He would have friends over occasionally.”

After Novak moved out of his parents’ home Feller said he would see him occasionally. He thinks Novak enrolled in computer studies in college and recently graduated. “I would see him (and) often he would be helping his dad cut the grass, even while he was away,” Feller said.

The two families watch each others’ homes while the other is away on vacation and help each other on projects, Feller said.

Knocks at the door of the Novak family residence Wednesday afternoon went unanswered.

Base security breach

In a Dec. 4 press conference about the security breach, Devillier said a range of planned security upgrades at Wright-Patterson entry gates would include barricades and serpentine traffic lanes “but also modification to tactics, techniques and procedures.”

According to base authorities, a man drove up to Gate 22B near Interstate 675 and handed a sentry his driver’s license around 9:40 a.m. Nov. 24.

The man then drove off and parked in a parking lot near Building 600 in the Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate, authorities have said.

A security patrol was “immediately” on the road and located the man’s vehicle in the parking lot within five minutes, the base commander has said.

The man was able to eventually make his way into Building 620 through a door that opened when someone exited the controlled-access facility, Devillier has said. The parking lot was about 1,500 to 1,800 feet away from the gate, a spokesman has said.

Employees stopped the suspect inside Building 620 because he was not wearing a security badge, officials have said. He was turned over to security authorities within 20 minutes and later released without being taken to jail.

The unauthorized entry into a controlled-access building set off alerts that led to the evacuation of employees inside both buildings and a shelter-in-place order for a nearby child development center.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, area police agencies, the Wright-Patterson fire department, and an Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were among the agencies that responded, according to officials. Building employees were evacuated about three hours while police shut down roads both on and off-base near the buildings.

The suspect did not carry weapons on himself or inside the vehicle he drove onto the base, and authorities have said they did not have evidence the man intended to do harm.

Court records said the suspect allegedly committed an assault during the incident, but authorities did not immediately provide additional information.

About the Author