Suspect ordered to stay away from internet and guns

SEE ALSO: The radicalization of James Reardon Jr.

By JOE GORMAN

jgorman@vindy.com

STRUTHERS

The suspect in a shooting threat against the Jewish Community Center in Youngstown was ordered to stay off the internet and away from guns should he be able to post 10 percent of his $250,000 bond.

James Reardon, 20, of Eastwood Drive in New Middletown, remains in the Mahoning County jail after his Monday arraignment before Judge Dominic Leone on charges of aggravated menacing and telephone harassment, two misdemeanors. He entered pleas of not guilty. A pretrial hearing is set for Sept. 14.

Reardon has been in custody since a warrant was served at his home Saturday by the New Middletown Police Department. That warrant was served after police became aware of a posting on Instagram where they say Reardon threatened to shoot up the Jewish Community Center on Gypsy Lane.

Members of Reardon’s family were in court for the arraignment, which came via video hookup from the county jail, but they left abruptly after the hearing was over, before they could be asked any questions.

If Reardon can post the 10 percent of his bond and he is released from jail, he is not allowed to be around firearms. He is not allowed to be on the internet and he will be subject to random drug testing and searches.

Judge Leone also ordered a mental-health evaluation for Reardon.

Any searches will be performed by the court’s probation department.

Ross Smith, one of Reardon’s attorneys, had no objection to the bond, but he said after court he may challenge it in the future because $250,000 for two misdemeanors is a very high bond. Typically a high bond for a first degree misdemeanor is $10,000.

Under the video, posted July 11, Reardon added the caption: “Police identify shooter of Youngstown Jewish Family Center as local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon,” authorities allege.

The video shows him shooting a rifle with sirens and screams in the background.

New Middletown Police Chief Vincent D’Egidio said among the weapons seized when the warrant was served were two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles and a .40-caliber assault rifle, along with a World War II-era MP40 submachine gun. D’Egidio said the submachine gun works.

D’Egidio said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is doing a records check to determine if the guns belong to Reardon or someone else.

As for Reardon’s past, D’Egidio said he had been in trouble before for what he termed “minor criminal mischief” that he characterized as a “friend against friend.” A search of court records show that Reardon as an adult has had a few traffic charges but no criminal charges.

Reardon is the second mass shooting suspect this month in Mahoning County to be taken into custody.

Justin Olsen, 18, of Boardman, is in federal custody after he was originally charged locally with threatening a federal law enforcement officer. He is being detained in the county jail by the federal government pending indictment.

D’Egidio said federal authorities are considering taking the Reardon case, as they did with the Olsen case.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, released a statement after the threats were reported: “It’s our responsibility to make clear that hate of any kind is not welcome in our state, and we will not tolerate threats, intimidation or violence against our neighbors,” said Brown. “This incident underscores the need for tough, universal background checks and providing law enforcement the tools they need to combat the threat of white nationalist terrorism across this country. I’m grateful to our law enforcement officers for protecting our communities and aggressively pursuing and prosecuting domestic terrorists and perpetrators of hate crimes in Ohio.”