BEND, Ore. (AP) - A Bend resident has been sentenced to federal prison for crafting a hoax bomb and phoning in a threat to blow up the Deschutes County Courthouse in 2019, federal prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said Kellie Cameron was sentenced Tuesday to nearly two years in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. Cameron was also ordered to pay more than $43,000 in restitution.
Court documents say Cameron and co-defendant Jonathan Allen conspired to shut down the courthouse in Bend by planting a fake bomb and calling in a bomb threat. Cameron and Allen placed a hoax device on a ramp near the courthouse on July 29, 2019. Cameron called 911 twice, telling the operator two bombs were in and around the courthouse.
As a result, the Deschutes County Courthouse, the Deschutes County District Attorney’s office, a bank, and other nearby businesses were evacuated while first responders rushed to the scene and investigated. When the device was discovered, a bomb squad used disabling techniques to prevent an explosion. The device was later dismantled and found to be a hoax.
In 2019, Cameron and Allen were charged with conspiring to make a threat to damage property and conveying false information and hoaxes. Cameron pleaded guilty in federal court in August to using a telephone to make a threat to damage a building by means of an explosive.
Allen, who pleaded guilty to the charge in June, was sentenced in September to 18 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release, along with being ordered to pay over $43,000 in restitution.
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