Published: May 09, 2008 11:43 am            

Feds indict UCO student for hoax

EDMOND — A suspended University of Central Oklahoma student was arraigned Thursday on federal charges of making a false report of a bomb threat to the campus. According to the Oklahoma County Jail, the student has been released from custody on bail.

Tuttle resident Jason Ray Shandy, 19, is accused of calling in a false bomb report April 22 to UCO. His charges include one count of making a false report of a bomb and two counts of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the incident, officials said during a press conference Thursday morning on the UCO campus.

The federal indictment alleges Shandy made a 911 call to the Edmond Police Department at 10:30 p.m. April 22 reporting he had overheard three Middle Eastern individuals at a 7-Eleven talking about blowing up UCO.

Mike Ward, Oklahoma City FBI special agent in charge, said the UCO Department of Public Safety, the Edmond Police Department, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the UCO administration responded to the call.

They determined after 14 hours of investigation that Shandy had concocted the bomb threat for personal reasons. No harmful device was located.

The indictment alleges that Shandy was interviewed and maintained his false report.

“This was a critical week in the semester,” said UCO President W. Roger Webb. “It was a week before finals.”

Webb said the students on campus during that time were not alerted about the threat.

“Students on campus never realized what was going on behind the scenes,” he said. “For 12 hours we were in a critical response mode.”

Ward said Shandy told somebody that he wanted to get out of school. The costs of the incident were substantial and still are being calculated, he said.

If Shandy is convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Shandy currently is under suspension from UCO.

UCO has become a nationwide leader regarding campus safety issues. The university hosted the second National Campus Security Summit April 13-14 and presented a governor’s report on the status of campus safety on Oklahoma campuses.

Ward said Thursday’s indictment reflects the serious nature of the student’s actions.

“Schools, colleges and universities are an important fabric of this society,” he said. “There must be accountability.”

U.S. Attorney John C. Richter announced Shandy’s arrest Thursday.

        

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