BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
TINTON FALLS — Some answers to last week’s bomb threat at Monmouth Regional High School can be traced back to a credit card theft a day before the incident.
The cell phone that was allegedly used by the 15-year-old Eatontown boy who stands charged with “creating a false public alarm” after he allegedly called in the threat on the morning of Oct. 4, police said, was purchased with one of 25 credit cards stolen from a 40-year-old Neptune woman the day before.
The cards, Tinton Falls Police Capt. David Trevena said, were used by the boy and two other teens, both 14 and from Tinton Falls, in a $3,000 shopping spree at Monmouth Mall the day before the threat was made.
The 15-year-old who allegedly made the threat at the school, purchased the cell phone, a guitar, amplifier, a digital camera and other merchandise in the spree, Trevena said. One of the Neptune woman’s credit cards, which she was unaware was missing, was in the teen’s possession when he was arrested and taken to the Monmouth County Youth Detention Center. It was the card he used to buy the cell phone on which he made the alleged threat, Trevena added.
After tracing the other mall purchases back to the credit card theft the day before the threat, police found the two 14-year-old boys, who, Trevena said, “were just friends of his.” There is no connection between the two 14-year-olds and the bomb threat. There is, however, a connection between the three youths and the credit card theft.”
The three allegedly used 10 of the 25 cards now known to be missing to make the purchases. Police said one of the 14-year-olds found the cards lying on the ground after the woman dropped them at the Tinton Falls Centre Oct. 3.
“The lady dropped them when she was walking on Sunday in the center,” Trevena said. “One of the 14-year-olds finds them, hands them out to his friends. The bomb threat happens, the one card is found on the kid, and the woman is notified that her card was found. Unaware that it was missing, the woman realizes that 25 in all were missing from when she dropped her purse. Then the connection was made to the two 14-year-olds and all the other purchases.”
So far, 10 of the 25 cards have been recovered, and all three youths were charged with credit card theft and possession of stolen property.
The 15-year-old used the card to purchase the cell phone and then, allegedly, call in the threat, Trevena said.
The high school was evacuated for a few hours and several K-9 bomb-sniffing dogs did a thorough search, but no bomb was found.
The 15-year-old was detained and suspended. The 14-year-olds were released to the custody of their parents.