DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – A Dearborn Heights man accused of making threatening social media posts directed at a local school was arraigned Friday, March 7, in Dearborn Heights 20th District Court on two felony charges.
He is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. Sources tell Local 4 his threats involved white supremacy and the suspect was seen wearing tactical gear in the alleged posts.
During the weekend of March 1, the Dearborn Heights Police Department (DHPD) said it received information from a fellow law enforcement agency about threatening social media posts aimed at Howe Montessori.
According to the school’s site, Howe Montessori “is home to programs for students with special needs from pre-school to age 26” and is “a K-5 Montessori school — one of only a handful of public Montessori schools in Michigan.”
“As soon as we received that report, our detectives got to work right away, trying to verify the information and determine its credibility,” said Paul Vanderplow, Director of Support Services/Internal Affairs for DHPD. “Within a very short time, we deemed that it was credible.”
Vanderplow said “pretty much within an hour” after receiving the information, they began their investigation.
“We take these things very seriously to ensure the safety of individuals, businesses, and schools,” he said.
Within hours, detectives secured a search warrant for a home on the 5000 block of Pardee Street, where the suspect, Andrew Mark Bays, 25, resided, he said.
During the search, investigators discovered multiple firearms, as well as indications of threatening ideology, leading to Bays’ arrest.
When asked whether Bays could have carried out an attack on the school, Vanderplow said while he did not want to speculate, if you look at things reasonably, “there’s a concern that absolutely could have happened.”
Bays was arraigned on March 6 and charged with Intentional Threat to Commit an Act of Violence Against a School (Maximum 10 years in prison, $20,000 fine), and Using a Computer to Commit a Crime (Maximum 10 years in prison, $10,000 fine). He was given a $500,000 cash bond and will be required to wear an electronic tether if released.
“If you see something, say something,” Vanderplow said. “And when we get reports like this, we act immediately. I’m very proud of my officers and detectives who got after this threat and took it out of society.”
The Director at Howe Montessori declined to speak on camera, but said a memo went out to parents notifying them of the incident.
Neighbors said Bays always “kept to himself,” seemed “anti-social,” and only seemed to leave his home to go to and from work.
