Three people have been arrested, accused of creating and planting imitation explosive devices at two school campuses in Louisiana.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office say that two men and a woman placed those devices at two north Louisiana school campuses and used a similar device during the robbery of a check-cashing business.
47-year-old Lacentrusa Mayweather of Winnfield, 41-year-old Paul Nash Jr., of Jonesboro, and 42-year-old Tabitha Gray of Ball were all booked into the Bienville jail.
Courtesy LSFM
Officers say that on April 2, the suspects allegedly placed a fake bomb on the campus of Lakeview High School in Campti, then called in the bomb threat. The suspicious object was located and removed from the campus without incident or injury.
The Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident in connection with a bank robbery in Campti the same day.
On April 16, the Bienville Sheriff’s Office say they requested the assistance of the SFM explosive ordnance detection (EOD) K-9 team in sweeping the Castor High School campus.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office say that during the investigation of a nearby bank robbery, detectives learned of credible information that a threatening device was on that campus. The suspicious object was located and removed from the campus without incident or injury the following day after one of the suspects directed investigators to its location.
In interviews with investigators, the suspects allegedly admitted to creating and placing the fake devices in both locations as distractions to law enforcement in their business-robbing schemes. Mayweather and Nash are also pending booking into the Winn Parish Jail for a February robbery involving a fake bomb at a check-cashing business in Winnfield.
Mayweather an was booked into the Bienville Parish Jail on one count each of Fake Explosive Device, Criminal Conspiracy and Criminal Trespassing. Nash Jr. was booked into the Bienville Parish Jail on one count each of Principal to Fake Explosive Device, Criminal Conspiracy and Criminal Trespassing. Gray was booked into the Bienville Parish Jail on one count each of Principal to Fake Explosive Device and Criminal Conspiracy.
All three will be booked into the Natchitoches Parish Jail in the coming days on the same charges, in addition to Terrorizing, Communicating of False Information of Planned Bombing on School Property for Nash, and Principal to Communicating of False Information of Planned Bombing on School Property for Mayweather and Gray.
The charges pending against Mayweather and Nash are Communication of False Bombing, Fake Explosive Device and Criminal Conspiracy. The investigation into additional crimes is on-going in collaboration with multiple other law enforcement agencies. Various additional charges have already been brought against the suspects by those agencies and more charges are possible.
