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WRIGHT TWP. — A Mountain Top man claimed he was “bored” when he randomly left several voice messages threatening a “major shooting” at Rice Elementary School on the first day of classes, according to court records.
Rice Township police said extra security was on hand for the first day of school Monday at Rice Elementary, which is part of the Crestwood School District.
After classes ended, police arrested Michael John Pac Jr., 30, of Van Avenue, Nuangola, after he allegedly admitted to leaving threatening voice mails.
Pac allegedly told police he was bored when he randomly selected a phone number for a house in Mountain Top, which was on Rebel Hill Road, leaving threatening messages on voice mail.
According to the criminal complaint:
The homeowners on Rebel Hill Road discovered the threatening voice mails when they returned from vacation on Aug. 18.
Police said the first voice mail left at 4:33 a.m. on Aug. 17 was inaudible. A second voice mail left a minute later stated, “blow up the school, elementary school.”
A third voice mail at 5:17 a.m. stated, “Rice Elementary. Major shooting will occur on the first day.”
The three voice mails were made by an “unknown” caller, police said.
The homeowners, who have two children attending Rice Elementary, did not recognize the male caller’s voice, the complaint says.
Police served search warrants to Service Electric Cable seeking the identity of the “unknown” caller. Service Electric advised that the calls involved New Cingular Wireless, which is a subdivision of AT&T.
A search warrant was served at AT&T on Aug. 27, which showed the owner of the phone number that left the voice mail to Pac, the complaint says.
During an interview with police Monday night, Pac allegedly claimed he knew why police wanted to speak with him because he made “bad” phone calls.
Pac alleged he made the threatening phone calls because he was home alone and bored, and found a random phone number for a house in Mountain Top. Pac claimed he consumed one beer when he made the calls.
Pac was arraigned Monday night by District Judge Ferris Webby in Wright Township on two counts of terroristic threats, and one count each of bomb threats, harassment and disorderly conduct. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $75,000 bail.