SAN ANTONIO -- A volunteer firefighter is accused of creating a bomb hoax, which evacuated two stores last Wednesday afternoon.
19-year-old Stefan Ferrell is charged with making a false alarm or report and was arrested Monday afternoon. Investigators say Ferrell claimed a man drove up to him at the Camelot Volunteer Fire Department and gave him a typed note. The note said, "BE AT HOME DEPOT BY 4:30 TODAY... ... OR BOOM!!!!!!!!"
Emergency crews evacuated the nearby Home Depot in Windcrest and searched for two hours but found nothing. The Live Oak location was evacuated as a precaution.
An arrest affidavit says Ferrell's story didn't add up and investigators believe he typed the note on the fire department computer and used an envelope from the department office. A witness told investigators Ferrell allegedly said he concocted the hoax because he was "bored" and and wanted to respond to a call for "excitement." The affidavit states Ferrell tried to convince that same witness to call in a false fire later that day so Ferrell could respond to it.
According to the affidavit, several of his fellow firefighters also became suspicious back in November when Ferrell showed up at the station to respond to a fire when he wasn't working and Ferrell matched the description of a person seen leaving the scene of that fire.
The Camelot Volunteer Fire chief says all employees pass background checks and Ferrell had been with the department since June, but Ferrell will be fired.
