A suspect has been identified and charged after authorities say he made a bomb threat that prompted a lockdown at the Special Education District of Lake County campus in Gages Lake.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 1:30 p.m. on January 25 to the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL) campus in the 18100 block of West Gages Lake Road in Gages Lake for a bomb threat.
A person called Gages Lake School and informed the receptionist that he would blow up a car in the parking lot if a specific employee did not come outside, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
Sheriff’s deputies and explosive detection canines from Great Lakes Naval Station conducted a search of the area but did not locate any signs of a bomb or explosives.
A soft lockdown was issued for the campus, including Laremont School, Cyd Lash Academy, Gages Lake School and the SEDOL Administrative Building.
Students remained inside the school and were not dismissed until the area was deemed safe, Covelli said.
Sheriff’s detectives conducted further investigation, which revealed the call was placed by a phone belonging to Markeese D. Guider, 27, of Maywood.
Covelli said detectives determined Guider was in a relationship with a person working at one of the schools on the property.
Sheriff’s detectives also learned Guider was the offender in a November incident that occurred in Green Oaks where he allegedly pointed a gun at someone.
Sheriff’s detectives obtained an arrest warrant on February 1 for Guider for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated unlawful use of a firearm, aggravated assault and criminal trespass to property stemming from the November incident in Green Oaks.
Guider was on parole for aggravated vehicular hijacking of a handicapped person out of Cook County that occurred in 2016, state records show.
He was released from the Illinois Department of Corrections in January 2023 following a 13-year sentence that he served less than seven years.
Guider was arrested on Wednesday at his residence by his parole officers for his active arrest warrant.
He was transported to the Lake County Jail where sheriff’s detectives found the call made to Gages Lake School on January 25 on his phone’s call log, Covelli said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the facts and circumstances of the case and approved the charge of disorderly conduct transmitting a bomb threat.
“Ensuring the students, teachers, and staff are safe inside our Lake County schools is of the utmost importance. Because of the close working relationship we have with SEDOL and school districts throughout the county, our deputies and detectives were able to work quickly and efficiently to make an arrest in this case,” Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.
“The offender caused major fear and disruption at the school and we will ensure he is held accountable for his reckless actions,” Idleburg said.
The Illinois Department of Corrections issued a parole violation warrant for Guider.
He remains held in the Lake County Jail on all of his charges pending First Appearance Court on Thursday morning.