El Paso County Sheriff’s Office: 2 juveniles taken into custody during investigation of attempted extortion, false reporting

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Two juveniles were arrested following an investigation into attempted extortion and swatting linked to multiple jurisdictions throughout the United States.

According to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPCSO), a high school in the county began receiving calls from an unknown male alleging he would carry out potential threats to the school in October 2021. The sheriff's office investigated and determined the threats were unfounded.

However, during the investigation, the EPCSO learned the suspect was linked to multiple swatting calls for service throughout the U.S., including some in El Paso County.

According to the EPCSO, the swatting calls ranged from bomb and active shooter threats to fake disturbance calls.

Additionally, the EPCSO investigation uncovered the suspect was also attempting to extort multiple juvenile females for "sexually explicit" images and videos.

After that discovery, the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC), which is headed by the Colorado Springs Police Department and comprised of detectives from EPSO and special agents with the Homeland Security Investigations, took over the investigation.

ICAC eventually identified the suspect and located him in Arvada. On February 10, 2022, ICAC, with assistance from the Arvada Police Department, executed a search warrant and took the suspect into custody for the following charges:

• §18-8-110, False Report of Explosives, Weapons, or Harmful Substances, Class Six Felony (F6)
• §18-9-109 (6) (B), Interference with Staff, Faculty, or Students of Educational Institutions, Class One Misdemeanor (M1)
• §18-8-111 (2) (A), False Reporting to Authorities-False Reporting of Emergency, Class One Misdemeanor (M1)

Because the suspect is a juvenile, the investigators say they will not be releasing any personal identifying information. Additionally, the EPCSO will not be releasing information on the attempted extortion because the victims were also juveniles.

According to the EPCSO, another individual, a juvenile, was also arrested for their involvement in the case on March 2, 2022. She was taken into custody on the following charges:

• 18-8-110 False Report of Explosives, Weapons or Harmful Substances (Conspiracy to Commit) F6
• 18-8-110 False Report of Explosives, Weapons or Harmful Substances (Accessory to Crime) F6

The EPCSO says this is still on on-going investigation.