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A 14-year-old boy was charged Friday for allegedly calling in two false bomb threats to Lakeview Middle School this week.
David M. McClory, of 405 Kings Highway, Winona Lake, was taken into custody Friday after allegedly making the second bomb threat.
McClory is charged with two counts of false informing, each a Class D felony. He was placed under house arrest and released to his parents. He was expelled from school for the remainder of this year and the first semester of next school year. The matter was forwarded to the prosecutor's office and Kosciusko County Probation Department.
McClory reportedly told Warsaw police he and a friend tried to think of ways to get out of school Monday, and McClory allegedly decided to call the school the next day and tell them there was a bomb in the building.
McClory allegedly called the middle school at 6:45 Tuesday morning from a pay phone at Kroger Supermarket, Warsaw. He allegedly left a message on the answering machine saying that there was a bomb in the school.
Warsaw police searched the building and found no explosive devices. The students and teachers were bused safely to Warsaw Community High School to await the search results. They were able to return to the middle school at 9 a.m.
McClory allegedly called again Friday morning at 6:11 a.m. and left another message on the machine, reportedly saying Tuesday was a test and on Friday the bomb was in a locker.
Students were again taken to the high school while police and some personnel searched for suspicious lockers.
Warsaw police reported they suspected the bomb threats were a hoax, but took every precaution to make sure the students were safe.
Police also requested a bomb-sniffing K-9 unit from Fort Wayne to check lockers in the school. Police finished the search at 9:45 a.m. and found no bombs.
Students were allowed to return to the school and begin classes.
Police later traced the Friday call to a pay phone at the Lakeview Shopping Center.
Police reported they spoke with students at the school who allegedly told them McClory was talking about making the calls. Police then questioned McClory, who allegedly gave them a statement about the calls.
Warsaw Lt. Lance Grubbs said cooperation between the police, Warsaw Fire Department, Multi-Township EMS and school officials helped control the situation.
Grubbs also said that the middle school considered the safety of the students as the most important factor even though police and the school knew the threats were a hoax.
