Ocean County Mall bomb threat suspect snagged

The suspect sought by police since the bomb threat that emptied the Ocean County mall on May 30 now has a face.

Toms River police have charged Showander Descarte, 24, of Manchester, with placing the call that emptied the shopping center a little before 8 PM.

This arrest applies to the second of two threats to the Mall within a matter of days. Police say it is unrelated to the call that prompted a clearout on May 27, and a search continues for a suspect in that incident.

Showander Descarte (Toms River PD)

According to authorities, Mall personnel reported the call to township police at 7:42 that night, telling them that the caller simply said, "There's a bomb," and hung up. The exchange meant an extensive deployment of officers and a full search inside and outside the grounds.

With intervention by Detective Dave Brubaker of the Ocean County Prosecutor's High Tech Crimes Unit, the call was traced to a specific phone, giving investigators grounds for a search warrant at Descarte's Ridgeway Road home, authorities said.

County detectives and police from Toms River and Manchester descended on the house at 10:30 Tuesday night. The serial number of the cell phone they found inside matched the one used for the call, authorities said.

Descarte is charged with creating a false public alarm and terroristic threats. She was placed in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, with bail set at $10,000.