Bend man gets 18 months in Deschutes County Courthouse hoax bomb
Second man charged remains in custody, awaiting trial
EUGENE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Bend man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Thursday for placing a hoax bomb at the Deschutes County Courthouse in July of 2019, U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said. A second Bend man charged in the case awaits trial.
Jonathan Tyler Allen, 24, also was sentenced to three years’ supervised release. As part of his sentence, Allen was also ordered to pay $43,620 in restitution to the Deschutes County Circuit Court, Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office, First Interstate Bank in Bend, and Bend Fire & Rescue.
According to court documents, on or about July 28 to July 29, 2019, Allen and co-conspirator Kellie Cameron, 31, conspired with one another to shut down the Deschutes County Courthouse in Bend by planting a fake bomb and calling in a bomb threat.
Around the same time, Cameron constructed a fake bomb using batteries, wiring, a circuit board and a fuel filter, among other materials.
On July 29, Allen and Cameron drove to the courthouse and placed the hoax device on a ramp near the building.
Around 7:20 a.m. that day, Cameron, who was with Allen, used a cellphone to call 911.
He told the operator, “I just want to let you know that there are two bombs, one’s in the courthouse -- and good luck finding the other one.”
Less than an hour later, with Allen again present, Cameron called 911 a second time to repeat his threat. Allen later threw one of the phones used into a canal to avoid being caught, authorities.
On August 7 of last year Allen and Cameron were charged by criminal complaint with conspiring to make a threat regarding explosive materials and conveying false information and hoaxes. On June 5, 2020, Allen pleaded guilty to the same charge.
Cameron made his first appearance in federal court on August 21, 2019. He entered a not guilty plea and was ordered detained. Cameron remains in federal custody awaiting trial.
This case was investigated by the FBI, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bend Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Nathan J. Lichvarcik and William M. McLaren, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
