Michael Clemens,
the VU student and Chesterton resident accused of perpetrating a hostage
hoax on the campus of Valparaiso University on Tuesday, was first
identified as a suspect by his cousin, a Porter Police officer who was on
duty at the time and overheard scanner traffic.
That, according
to the probable cause affidavit filed after deadline on Thursday by Capt.
Jeff Balon of the Valparaiso Police Department.
Also revealed by
Balon: the man later identifed as Clemens spoke to a dispatcher for at
least 25 minutes, during which time the caller pretended to shoot someone.
Clemens, 20, of
810 W. Porter Ave., has been charged with intimidation and false
informing, both Level 6 felonies punishable by a term of six to 30 months.
The incident
began at 7:04 p.m. Tuesday when a man called the non-emergency business
number at the VPD station. It was after hours and so that call was
automatically transferred to the Porter County 911 Dispatch Center. On
being connected to a dispatcher, the caller said that he taken at least
two hostages in the Christopher Center for Library and Information
Services and had access to an explosive.
The Porter County
SWAT Team subsequently cleared the Christopher Center and found no injured
person and no suspect.
Meanwhile, PPD
Officer Dan Dickey, a cousin of Clemens, overhead scanner traffic
concerning the incident while on duty and took note of the fact that the
caller had apparently given the name “Michael Commons,” close enough to
his own cousin’s name to give him pause, Balon said in his affidavit.
Dickey, also
knowing that his cousin attends VU and aware that he “suffers from
depression,” contacted the VPD to advise investigators that “he did not
feel these actions would be outside the realm of possibility for Clemens,”
Balon stated.
Arrangements were
made for Dickey to listen to the tape of the call and, after hearing
between 20 and 25 minutes of it, Dickey became “certain the caller and
Clemens were the same person.” Dickey “pointed out that he knows his
cousin very well and has had many conversations with him,” Balon stated.
Clemens was later
located at Gellersen Hall, taken into custody, and transported to the VPD
station, where Balon interviewed him.
Clemens initially
“denied having any direct involvement in this case,” Balon stated,
although he did say that he first heard of a hostage situation at 7
p.m.--four minutes before the call was actually made. “However, he very
quickly changed that time to 8 p.m.”
“Eventually,”
though, Clemens “admitted to being the male subject who placed the
telephone call,” Balon stated.
“He confirmed
that during the call he falsely reported he had taken hostages, shot at
least one person, and relayed information referring to a bomb,” Balon
stated. “He also admitted to acting out on his frustrations.” “He further
explained that he had looked up the non-emergency telephone number to VPD,
blocked his caller ID, and placed the call from his cell phone,” Balon
stated.
Clemens made that
call from a restroom stall in Gellersen Hall, Balon also stated. “During
the telephone call, he simulated the sound of gunshots, then said he had
shot someone. When asked how he simulated the sound of gunfire, he said he
slapped the metal walls of the bathroom stall to make it sound like he had
fired a weapon.”
Clemens was
released from the Porter County Jail after posting a $1,000 cash bond.
The
law-enforcement response to Tuesday’s hoax was “massive,” as PCSP Sgt.
Larry LaFlower described it at the time, and involved more than 50
officers and agents from federal, state, and local agencies.