2 accused of making bomb threats from jail

STAFF REPORT

LISBON — Two prisoners in the Columbiana County Jail may face charges of making bomb threats from the jail to the Springfield Township and Columbiana police departments.

The Springfield Township department is in Mahoning County.

Allen Haueter, the chief deputy for the county sheriff’s office, said Friday the information will be presented to the next grand jury.

The two men made the calls about 10 p.m. Monday.

The names of the men have not been released. Both prisoners are facing sex charges.

Haueter said the case was easy to solve. Prisoners can make calls from the jail on a system in which the prisoner is to state his name. The system then automatically asks the recipient if he or she wants to accept the cost of the call from the jail.

Instead of saying their names, the prisoners made threats.

Haueter said the recording immediately alerted dispatchers, who notified the sheriff’s office.

Haueter said the sheriff’s office was able to trace the call to a cell area that contained four men. After hearing recordings of the call, they identified the callers.