The police for the Washington area’s transit system arrested a D.C. man Wednesday on charges of making terrorist threats against the region’s trains and buses.
According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Jerez Nehemiah Stone-Coleman, known as “Kidd Cole,” “knowingly [conveyed] false information concerning an attempt or alleged attempt to engage in terrorist attacks or other violence against mass transportation systems.”
Stone-Coleman made false threats via the 911 emergency system about 11 times between December 2014 and May 2015, each resulting in an emergency response and causing some sort of disruption to Metro train and bus service, the complaint says.
Metro Transit Police used cellphone records, video surveillance from Metro stations and buses and telephone audio to identify Stone-Coleman.
In one threat, made Jan. 20, the caller claimed people “from France” told him they planned to ambush President Obama’s motorcade and assassinate him that night. The same people had placed bombs around the Potomac Avenue Metro station and planned to kill a police officer, the caller also said. As a result, the Potomac Avenue Metro station was shut down and sweeps were conducted.
Stone-Coleman appeared on MTV’s reality show “Catfish” in 2014, which is a show about someone who pretends to be someone else with the hopes of getting another person to fall in love with him or her.
“We have no greater responsibility than protecting Metro’s customers and employees,” Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik said Wednesday. “This case demonstrates the seriousness with which we take all threats and the lengths to which we will go to bring those responsible to justice.”
