Ex-Monmouth Sheriff’s worker charged in probe of 911 center threat

A former employee of the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office is accused of texting a threat to the county 911 Communications Center about two months after his release from the job.

Christopher Young, 27, of Freehold Borough, was charged February 1 with a second-degree count of creating false public alarm of a critical infrastructure, according to Sheriff Shaun Golden's office.

Authorities said that, at the time of his arrest, Young admitted sending the December 8 text that warned of a bomb in the building.

Young was hired as a Public Safety Telecommunicator in July 2016, and was subject to a three-month probationary period prior to a final hiring decision. He was released in October, prior to completing the conditional period.

A spokesperson in the Sheriff's office could not elaborate on the circumstances that led to his departure.

Determining that a prepaid cell phone was used, investigators in the Law Enforcement Division of the Sheriff's Office  employed phone tracking and surveillance, leading them to Young at a house in Freehold Borough, authorities said.

"These types of threats are taken very seriously and will not be tolerated to ensure the safety of the people who live and work in Monmouth County," Golden said in prepared comments.

"I commend our detectives from the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office for fully responding to this false public alarm and actively working to find out who was responsible for this disruptive and potentially dangerous threat."

Second-degree offenses carry potential prison sentences of five to 10 years on conviction.

Charges are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, found guilty in a court of law.