The San Luis Obispo Police Department received an emergency 911 call at approximately 10 a.m. this morning. The caller reported they had planted a number of bombs at several unidentified schools in San Luis Obispo.
The dispatch center was able to track the call to a specific pay phone in the city. Officers searched the area, however, and were unable to immediately locate a suspect.
Plain clothes officers assigned to the case developed a strategy to watch particular pay phone locations in the immediate area with the purpose of catching the caller in the act of making another call.
At approximately 10:40 a.m. a second 911 call making additional threats was made to the police department.
Plain clothes officers were able to position themselves at a location that allowed them to witness the call, detain and eventually arrest the suspect, Charles Edward Rose, 45 of Santa Maria.
A continuing investigation revealed that though the threats were taken seriously and communication with the school district was established early to thwart any dangerous activity by the suspect, there was nothing discovered to substantiate the suspect’s threats.
The suspect was arrested for falsely reporting planting bombs, criminal threats and misuse of emergency 911. The suspect was transported to county jail and booked.