Ocean County Mall Bomb Threat Suspect Claims Innocence

The Manchester woman accused of calling in a bomb threat to the Ocean County Mall last Saturday says she did not do it, according to a report.

The Asbury Park Press is reporting that Showander Descarte told them in an exclusive interview that she told police she did it to get a lower bail so she could get home to her children.

Descarte, 24, was arrested Tuesday night at her Ridgeway Road home, authorities said Wednesday. She is accused of making the call that was received at the mall about 7:40 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, where the caller stated, “There’s a bomb,” and then hung up.

The High Technology Crimes Unit of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office traced the call to a cell phone used by Descarte, authorities said, and when a search warrant was executed Tuesday night, a cell phone with a serial number that matched the one linked to the call was found in the home.

The incident is separate from the May 27 bomb hoax that resulted in an evacuation of the mall, authorities said. That incident remains under investigation.

Descarte claims a stranger borrowed her phone and made a call Saturday evening.

Read more on her interview here.