Hoaxer made police station bomb threats
AHOAXER rang 999 and threatened he was going to blow up four different police stations.
Ryan O’Keefe, from Cheadle, went into a phone booth and rang emergency services three times in an hour threatening to use nail bombs or pipe bombs.
In one call he asked a 999 call handler: “What are you going to do when I plant a bomb?”
O’Keefe’s offences last month were aggravated by Manchester being on ‘high threat’ alert following the Arena terror attack in May last year which killed 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, Stockport magistrates court heard.
But police who suspected O’Keefe was a crank traced the call and a PCSO was sent over to the phone box in Stockport. They found him staggering outside in a drunken stupor.
The threats on November 14 were made to police stations at Cheadle Heath, Levenshulme, Longsight and Chadderton but none was evacuated.
O’Keefe, 35, admitted making hoax bomb calls and was freed and told to get treatment for his alcohol issues.
Prosecutor Robin Lynch said: “He made 999 calls with various abuse and swear words and made reference to planting bombs and said ‘what are you going to do when I plant a bomb?’
“He made reference to nail bombs and pipe bombs going off outside four different police stations. A policeman spoke to the defendant and he was arrested but he gave no comment to all questions during his interview.’’
Defence lawyer Peter Malone said: “There is no excuse for this, and he is ashamed to be here. This is completely out of character.
“The police were given the impression that it was serious but did not respond as they were told it was a nuisance caller. They sent a PCSO to see who was making the calls, and went to a phone box. The defendant was leaving the phone box and he was arrested.
“He wasn’t able to say anything due to the amount of alcohol and drugs he had taken from the previous night so he wasn’t functioning at all. The alcohol played its part. He is alcoholdependent and has been drinking for a long time. His offending behaviour shows he has not offended for some time.
“With his lifestyle, he has mental health issues and depression with a more severe diagnosis in the process. He recognises there is a decline in his mental health and is gaining help from health services. He is not hiding behind an excuse.”
O’Keefe was sentenced to 26 weeks jail, suspended for 18 months.
The magistrates said: “You made multiple threats over one hour and this is aggravated by the current high threat level in this area which was heightened following police recent events at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester last year which caused a lot of deaths and injuries. These calls could have caused serious disruption to emergency services.”
O’Keefe was also ordered to complete a 12-month alcohol treatment order and pay £200 in costs.