Police trace Ocean County Mall bomb threat call to Manchester woman’s cell phone
(Photo: Toms River Police Department)
The cell phone used to make one of the two bomb threats to the Ocean County Mall in Toms River last week has been linked to a Manchester woman, police say.
Showander Descarte, 24, of Ridgeway Road in Manchester has been charged with creating a false public alarm and terroristic threats by Det. Jonathan Turner of the Toms River Police Department Criminal Investigation Bureau, according to department spokesman Ralph Stocco.
Police allege that Descarte called the Ocean County Mall shortly before 7:45 p.m. on May 30 and said “there’s a bomb” before hanging up, Stocco said.
Authorities conducted a full exterior and interior search, and ultimately no explosive threats were found.
Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Technology Crimes Unit Det. Dave Brubaker traced the call to a specific cellular phone used by Descarte, leading to a court authorized search warrant for the residence, according to Stocco.
Around 10:30 p.m. yesterday, members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Technology Crimes Unit, Manchester Police Department, and the Toms River Police Department Criminal Investigation Bureau executed the search warrant on the residence and found the cellular phone that matched the serial number of the phone used to make the bomb threat, Stocco said.
Descarte remains held in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River on $10,000 bail.
The May 27 threat that shut down the mall for several hours remains under investigation, Stocco added.
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