Man Charged With Terrorism Threats Against Lincoln-Way
Tom G. Rohrbach, 46, of New Lenox, was charged with two counts of falsely making a terrorist threat and nine counts of disorderly conduct.
Updated 4 p.m. May 2
A series of phone calls spanning two months led police to the man they believe made threats against the Lincoln-Way High School District this year.
Tom G. Rohrbach, 46, of the 700 block of Lisson Grove in New Lenox, was charged with two counts of falsely making a terrorist threat, a Class 1 felony, and nine counts of disorderly conduct, a Class 4 felony.
After investigating six phone calls threatening violence, police executed a search warrant at Rohrbach's mother's home, where he lived. Police recovered two cell phones. New Lenox Police Chief Bob Sterba said there were no explosives or guns found in the home.
"There was nothing of that sort that would lead us to believe this was anything more than sport for him," Sterba said. "He enjoyed seeing the police response."
Police responded to the four Lincoln-Way high schools the morning of Monday, April 30, after receiving a call threatening Central High School in New Lenox and North High School in Frankfort. According to police reports, the caller threatened "great bodily harm" at Central.
The male voice was studied and police determined it to be the same as a caller who threatened to bring guns to the school on March 6. In that incident, an untraceable phone was used and police weren't able to track the call.
Sterba said Rohrbach also made four calls to the New Lenox Police Department threatening violence, and all of the locations were near his home on Lisson Grove, which is in the Wellington subdivision near Route 30 and Schoolhouse Road in New Lenox.
In one call, Sterba said, Rohrbach threatened to "shoot up" people in Bishops Gate Road. Another time he threatened the same action in his street. In a third call, police said he threatened to kill himself, and during a call made from Charter Fitness in the Bluestone Commons shopping center, police say it appears he threatened to shoot inside of Target.
"While this is certainly unacceptable, it's important to stress that at no time was there a real threat of danger," Sterba said.
Sterba and Deputy Chief Bob Pawlisz credited the assistance of the Will County Sheriff's Department in the investigation, as well as the work by the Lincoln-Way Communications 911 dispatch center.
Although police say Rohrbach used untraceable phones, they were able to obtain enough information about the coordinates of the calls.
"The dispatches that came through weren't as easy to track, but this and the areas threatened certainly gave us an indication," Pawlisz said.
According to police, there's no known connection between Rohrbach and the Lincoln-Way High School District, except that he goes to Central to work out and lives near the school. Police said Rohrbach doesn't have a prior record, but family members told them during the investigation that he "did have some issues" and was developmentally disabled, Pawlisz said.
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Police blotter information is provided by the Will County Sheriff's Department. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.
In This article
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Lincoln-Way Central High School
1801 E Lincoln Hwy, New Lenox, IL -
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Will County Sheriff's Department Laraway Substation
2402 E Laraway Rd, Joliet, IL -
Michael Sewall
Joined Patch Wednesday, September 22, 2010 -
Lincoln-Way North High School
19900 S. Harlem Ave., Frankfort, IL -
New Lenox Police Department
701 W Haven Ave, New Lenox, IL
colleentriana
10:35 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
How did they find him? What a rotten man, scaring people like that.
Peggy Kuch
10:44 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
If he made those threats, I hope he gets to pay for all of the resources the village mobilized to protect our schools!
William Caldwell
10:49 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
I hope The Will County Sheriffs Police havbe the right man for a change.
Jeni Healy
10:49 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
This is the guy that's in his basement, on the computer, in his underwear-stirring the pot on topix.
Rosalinda
12:19 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
pahaha...thanks for the visual!
Opinion 1
11:02 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Maybe this person has a mental illness, not sure but one would tend to think that would be the case since this is truly a heinous act.
Mrs 406
11:29 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Does he have a child that goes to a lincoln-way school? Does he have a previous record? What set him off? Ugh, glad they found him.
Rosalinda
12:21 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
other than a handful of traffic tickets, nothing else in will county
Michael Sewall
11:30 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The article has just been updated with more information about the arrest.
Rich Lombard
12:04 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
I'm waiting for the comment "Hmm.....He was a real nice guy!" I'm glad they got him. I wasn't aware that he was a repeat offender. Maybe the LW schools can get back to work now without disruption!
Chris
12:33 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Forty-six and living with Mom? Besides his cell phones, I hope they confiscate his Star Trek memorbilia while they're at it.
Reality Bytes!
12:51 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Regardless of what the police say, any time a person makes threats like these, there is a danger to those being threatened. Whether or not he had guns or explosives at his mother's home, doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't capable of doing something. I'm glad they caught him, now lets see how serious the law takes it and what kind of punishment they deal out. He is obviously not right in the head, and should be treated as such. Was he a LW alumni?
Peter Conrad
11:33 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
If you fly on an airplane and state: "I HAVE A BOMB", they do NOT first look around to find the bomb and then have you arrested.....first, THEY HAVE YOU ARRESTED-then they look for the bomb!!!!!
Reality Bytes!
12:36 pm on Thursday, May 3, 2012
And if you don't have a bomb, everyone wonders what you were thinking when you claimed you did. Bomb or not, you're going to jail...
Angie
12:57 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Hooray!! Thank you to the police department and will county sherriff for taking this seriously and keeping the kids safe.
Ashlee
1:01 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
GREAT JOB to the New Lenox Police Department. Thank you for keeping our town safe!!!!
Serge Storms - I Follow No One
2:04 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Since this wasn’t just one threat with this guy, who knows if he one day he snapped and acted out on his threats. Sounds like he needs to get out of his fantasy world.
Ty Bo
2:29 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Nice police work.
It's dangerous to have a bunch of cops walking around on edge at a school amped-up looking for this guy. Glad they caught him.
steve Macko
2:44 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Well he will realize how stupid he waswhen the class x felony is charged to him guilty means 6 to 30 years and class four is some more bye bye wise guy.
Jennifer D.
3:10 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
"While this is certainly unacceptable, it's important to stress that at no time was there a real threat of danger," Sterba said. That's a very ridiculous comment. Anyone who is capable of making all of these threats is capable of following through on them. I'm sure the intention was to ease the "fear factor" that his behavior caused but it's a Class X Felony for a reason and any threat to do bodily harm should be considered a "real threat of danger." I'm glad he is caught and in custody.
Peter Conrad
11:33 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
-just an idiot who would yell: "Fire!" in a movie theatre!!
Sharon Grod
3:15 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
bravo to the will county sherrif's office and the new lenox police dept !!
Michael Sewall
4:24 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Please keep your comments clean or they will be deleted. If it continues, your account will be suspended. Please get familiar with our terms of service: http://newlenox.patch.com/terms
lwc2013
4:41 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
im a current jr. at lwc. and i cant tell you how grateful i am to the new lenox police. its such a load off the sholders for us at lwc now knowing the idiot is behind bars. and now being able to get back to are normal habits without the threats
Joe Vince
7:47 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Along with leaving out vulgarities, keep your comments tasteful. You might think you're being funny, but you're not.
Joe Vince
Local Editor, Frankfort
Rhinna Davis
10:27 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
He is developmentally and mentally challenged just PRAY for him and his family.
Risa
10:52 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
I am a senior at LWC and I am so thankful that they have gotten this man. I can't even stress to any of you how frightening it was to wake up in the morning and go to school. I never thought that this would happen here. We are blessed to live in such an amazing town with awesome police force! Thank you to them for protecting our school. I finally feel safe now, like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.
Peter Conrad
11:33 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
-I think I used to know this guy: "Tommy" was the son of a man who quartered a boat named "Big Daddy" at 4 Seasons Boat Club on the Little Calument River on the Chicago-Dolton border. He used to get great "fun" out of sending out bogus calls for help as a mariner on the river to the Coast Guard!!!!!
K
10:14 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
I grew up with "Tommy" too. He was born mentally and developmentally challenged. Just hope he now gets the help he needs. His Mom is wonderful.
MJ
12:20 am on Saturday, May 5, 2012
It is very sad that he had to do this several times. He has 2 children of his own. He will probably nevwr see them anymore.