Details On Washington County Bomb Threat Arrest

MARIETTA, OH — The bomb threats in and around Washington County are hopefully over. Bomb threats started rolling in on May 6th to Waterford, but they quickly spread out. Chief Deputy Mark Warden said between May 6th to May 11th, Washington County saw 13 bomb threats.

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Some of the schools targeted included Waterford High School, Waterford Elementary School, Fort Frye High School, Beverly Elementary School, Marietta Middle School, St. Mary's Catholic School, Belpre Elementary School. "On the eleventh, yesterday, we received six in the county. At the same time." Each threat had to be painstakingly investigated.

Warden said one positive thing he saw was how well all the agencies involved handled these incidents. "What was really impressive in this whole endeavor was the cooperation we saw from everybody." He said other departments were bending over backward to help them. They had a bomb dog, but OU loaned a couple, Franklin County loaned us one, and so did Stark County. "An investigator with the Department of Corrections actually was almost a liason for us reaching out to assist us in obtaining bomb dogs outside of our region."

The investigators were able to hunt down the alleged perpetrator using a social media app. He didn't name the app because he doesn't want people utilizing it. Warden says it is a texting type of app that switches your phone number. "They were able to identify an IP address, based off that we were able to conduct search warrants." The company the app is through complied with the Sheriff's department's search warrants.

Initially, they searched an address in Pennsylvania because the IP address was tied to a phone number linked to the PA address. The suspect didn't live at that address, but interviews of folks at the Pennsylvania residence led them to believe their suspect was now living in Georgia. "They linked us to the individual in Georgia."

Deputies in Washington County were able to contact deputies in McDuffie County, Georgia to track down 18-year-old Nicholas John Michael Hall. "They made contact with the individual, fast forward a little while they collected some evidence down there. And also he confessed to the bomb threats."

There was a statement made that Hall was dating a young lady at one of these schools, Warden isn't sure to the extent of the relationship, but he thinks there could have been some sort of internet dating element. "This is early still into the investigation, we're still looking into it." One story is that he made these bomb threats to get her out of school. "I don't believe that's the full motive."

On the same day, Hall was arrested, there were bomb threats called into schools in Athens, Noble, Morgan, Union, and Franklin Counties. Deputies were onto the suspect days before he was arrested, they had an idea where the threats were coming from and had an idea they might not be credible. "Some of the schools were searched the night before, security kept on them all night." And they still got a bomb threat. "On maybe the 10th, he called into the same school and said the bomb is on the child."

Hall is charged with second-degree felonies for inducing panic and third-degree felonies for terroristic threats. Warden said he's looking at up to 26 felony counts for the 13 bomb threats in Washington County, but he could also be facing felony charges in the other counties where bomb threats were called into. "He's looking at a substantial amount of time."

Warden applauded all who helped investigate this case, search schools for bombs, or help out in any way. He pointed out that since Hall's arrest, there have been no more bomb threats.

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