Youngstown man indicted for bomb threat to courthouse

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman announced today that a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland has returned a two-count indictment charging Larese Kenneth Allen, Sr., 25 of Youngstown with making a bomb threat and as a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on or about June 1, 2020, the Municipal Court of Youngstown, Ohio received a phone call from an unknown caller to the clerk’s office. The caller is alleged to have spoken with a court clerk and claimed to be “coming from Cleveland to blow-up your courthouse.” Following the threat, all employees of the Municipal Court of Youngstown were immediately evacuated and the Youngtown Police Department’s Bomb Squad was dispatched and conducted a sweep of the Municipal Court. No bomb was found.

An investigation subsequently determined that the defendant was the one who had placed the phone call. During an interview with law enforcement, the defendant allegedly admitted to placing the June 1st phone call to the Municipal Court of Youngstown to delay upcoming criminal proceedings.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.     

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offenses and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Yasmine Makridis.