WASHINGTON — A deactivated cellphone, a phony British accent and an MTV show helped Metro Transit Police catch up with a man accused of phoning in false threats against the D.C. Metro system.
The calls began coming in during December of last year, but police had a hard time catching the prankster, who sent first responders scrambling and left several Metro stations temporarily closed.
On Wednesday, 20-year-old Jerez Nehemiah Stone-Coleman was arrested for the threats.
Court documents shed light on how police caught the man who made 11 false threats, the last one coming in to emergency dispatchers on May 12.
Investigators began by gathering all the 911 audiotapes, but soon realized the calls were all placed using phone numbers that were not in service. A look at the two most recent calls revealed they came from the same deactivated phone, which was last registered to Stone-Coleman of Southeast D.C.
Since every cellphone can call 911, the caller was able to make the calls, which included bomb threats to Metro stations and even the White House, without an active phone plan. Investigators then turned to Sprint, which provided police with certain identifying numbers for the phone used and a name for the last person who had a plan for the phone: Jerez Nehemiah Stone-Coleman.
Court documents also reveal that once they had a name, investigators turned to Stone-Coleman’s recent appearance on the MTV show “Catfish,” finding various clips where the his voice appeared to match the voice heard on the 911 tapes. In one case, investigators noted a “false British accent” that was similar to one used in an online video of Stone-Coleman.
In addition to using phone records and the Internet, police turned to security camera footage to zero in on Stone-Coleman. On Jan. 22, a call came in from a man claiming he and his friends planned to take hostages on D.C. Metrobus 6149 unless a $15 million ransom was paid. Video from the bus at that time captured Stone-Coleman onboard.
Court documents state a close “acquaintance” of Stone-Coleman also listened to several of the threatening calls, including one from Feb. 13, when a man using a British accent said a “friend from Spain” placed a radiation bomb at the Union Station Metro station. The acquaintance recognized Stone-Coleman’s voice.
On May 14, Coleman was arrested by Metro Transit Police for fare evasion, and when interviewed by police, he admitted to an April 14 bomb threat involving the McPherson Square Metro station and the White House.
The interview he gave to police ultimately led to his arrest for the 11 calls on May 26, making the threats. A judge denied Stone-Coleman bond. He faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
