Student arrested in Vegas bomb threat case

LAS VEGAS - A California high school student accused of calling several Las Vegas Strip casinos and threatening to blow up the resorts if he wasn't sent money is facing felony charges in the case, police said Friday.

Sheriff's deputies in California arrested 18-year-old Zachary Jackson Wednesday morning at his home in Ventura County. He faces charges in California of making false bomb threats and attempted extortion, Las Vegas police said Friday. He will likely also face charges in Nevada.

A 16-year-old friend who helped Jackson make the calls was also questioned, but was eventually released. The boy could still face charges, said Capt. Mike Aranda, a spokesman for the Ventura County sheriff's office.

The threats were made between July 28 and Monday, with Jackson demanding large amounts of money and threatening to destroy the properties if he wasn't paid. Detectives were examining the calling devices and said the evidence might identify more targets.

Investigators said they found voice concealment equipment used during the threatening phone calls at Jackson's home. The search didn't yield materials used to make bombs, Las Vegas police spokesman Jay Rivera said.

"It appeared more that it was a prank," he said.

Rivera wouldn't say how much money was demanded from the casinos or which casinos were threatened.

"We don't want to encourage copycats," he said. "This is a very important part of the state of Nevada. We don't want anyone to gather any knowledge of how they might make these kinds of threats."

Jackson, a student at Apollo High School in Simi Valley, was being held at the Ventura County jail. Bail was set at $50,000.