Four arrested in Hoffman Estates High School bomb hoax

Hoffman Estates police have arrested four teens after determining a bomb threat at Hoffman Estates High School Wednesday morning was a hoax to try to get them out of school for the day.

Sharell M. Thomas, 18, of the 7500 block of Bristol Lane in Hanover Park was charged with disorderly conduct for false transmission of a bomb threat — a Class 3 felony.

During a court appearance Thursday, Thomas was issued a $20,000 recognizance bond and put on 24-hour house arrest pending a Dec. 6 court date.

Charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct were Markeisha N. Jones, 18, of the 7500 block of Bristol Lane in Hanover Park, and two juveniles — an approximately 15-year-old girl from Hanover Park and an approximately 16-year-old boy from Hoffman Estates.

Jones was released on a $1,500 bond and given a court date of Dec. 18. The other two are being prosecuted as juveniles.

Schaumburg-Palatine High School District 211 officials confirmed that Jones has been a Hoffman Estates High School student since 2011 but Thomas does not attend the school.

The school was on a soft lockdown for about an hour Wednesday morning after the bomb threat. Police responded about 8:44 a.m. and conducted a search of the school and perimeter for suspicious items. During the search, there were several more hoax calls to the school office reporting a bomb, police said. The lockdown ended at 9:40 a.m.

At about the same time Wednesday morning, Lake Park High School in Roselle received similar bomb threats. Hoffman Estates police would not say whether they believe the cases are linked, but indicated they are sharing information with Roselle police.

Ÿ Daily Herald staff writers Jessica Cilella, Eric Peterson and Barbara Vitello contributed to this report