Two men have been charged with calling in a fake bomb threat at the Hope Center in the City of Waukesha on Friday, Dec. 27.
Ryan Helm, 22 of Waukesha, and Angelo Lehn, 23 of Milwaukee, were each charged on Dec. 30 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with causing a bomb scare, battery and disorderly conduct.
According to the criminal complaint, officers from the Waukesha City Police Department were dispatched at about 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27 to the Hope Center, 502 N. East Ave., after receiving reports of a bomb threat.
Emergency dispatch advised officers that an unidentified man had said that a person named "Craig" was at the Hope Center and threatening to detonate a bomb, the complaint states. A second caller told dispatch in the complaint that a man was attacking people at the center and may have taken hostages.
Police arrived at the scene and were advised by staff that the reports were false. Police learned that an individual named Craig Fansher did make frequent use of the center, the complaint states. He told police in the complaint that he had been attacked by both Helm and Lehn a few days before the incident and suspected they called in the bomb threat.
A Hope Center employee confirmed that Helm had been banned from the homeless shelter after attacking Fansher on Dec. 27.
Both men were located at the Waukesha library and placed under arrest.
Lehn admitted to police in a statement that he called in the bomb threat, the complaint states. He said in the complaint that he was angry with Fansher because the man had allegedly stolen items from him.
Helm told police in a statement that they had conspired to get back at Fansher for the alleged thefts, the complaint states.
The men are currently being held on $5,000 cash bonds and could face up to 4 1/2 years in prison and $21,000 in fines if convicted.
They are both expected to appear at a preliminary hearing on Jan. 9.