Obviously, he is unfamiliar with HBO’s The Wire.

16-year-old jailed in bomb threats

16-year-old jailed in bomb threats

3-31-05

By Ellica Church, Staff Writer
News & Record

GREENSBORO — A 16-year-old who neighbors say hoped to join the Air Force after graduating from Smith High School sits in the Guilford County jail charged in a recent string of bomb threats.

Tony Wayne Moore enjoys watching wrestling and reading comic books, next-door neighbor Sarita Hines said. The teenager being raised by his grandfather would mow lawns in the neighborhood to earn money.

Now, Hines and others in the neighborhood who know the ROTC student are trying to understand why he’s accused of making the threats over a stolen cell phone.

Authorities arrested Moore at his home at 1003 Cranbrook St. about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

He faces 20 felony counts of making false reports concerning a destructive device related to a series of bomb threats targeting commercial and public buildings throughout the city, including hospitals, law firms and shopping centers.

He is being held under $250,000 bond. By N.C. law, anyone 16 and older is charged as an adult.

Additional charges are likely against Moore in the ongoing investigation by agencies that include police, the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service.

The first bomb threat happened a week ago at the Jefferson-Pilot building downtown. Employees were evacuated for more than an hour while police searched the building. They found no bomb.

Between March 24 and Tuesday morning, more than 50 businesses had received telephone bomb threats, police said. No bombs were found.

Those threats disrupted many business who chose to evacuate.

The charges filed against Moore stem from threats made against buildings within the city and don’t include any threats against federal property, Capt. Gary Hastings of the Greensboro police said.

Federal authorities are handling that aspect of the investigation, including two bomb threats that twice resulted in evacuations at Piedmont Triad International Airport last week, he said.

Authorities don’t believe the bomb threats have any connection to domestic terrorism, but the motive behind the threats remains unclear.

Officers have worked round-the-clock for almost a week tracking down leads, Hastings said. They scoured incoming phone records from the businesses and reviewed recordings of the bomb threats at several companies.

Between 25 to 30 Greensboro police officers were exclusively assigned to the investigation. Other officers were also called in, especially when multiple threats were made within a short time.

Responding to the calls tied up paramedics, firefighters, the Highway Patrol and Guilford County sheriff deputies who helped in evacuations.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Moore’s home Tuesday night and found a cell phone that police said was used to call the businesses.

Several businesses that received a bomb threat reported that the caller had a female or computer-generated voice. Authorities believe Moore likely acted alone in the bomb threats, but the investigation is ongoing.

“We are confident that we have the correct suspect in custody,” Hastings said. “Any threat is taken with a high degree of seriousness, and this is a crime that had the potential to endanger some lives.”

Hastings would not elaborate on what led investigators to Moore.

The department invested a significant amount of manpower in the investigation, police Chief David Wray said, adding that the department is in the processing of tallying the cost of the investigation.

Moore doesn’t have a criminal history, Hastings said. Each felony count he faces could result in six to eight months jail time, Assistant District Attorney Howard Neumann said.

Moore is bright, neighbor Hines said, which makes the possible jail time in connection with the threats even more disheartening.

Several neighbors said he took the death of his grandmother several years ago very hard.

None of Moore’s family members could be reached for comment Wednesday.

“People make mistakes. I just hope he’s OK,” Hines said.