Warrant issued for man suspected of false bomb tip at Banner-Wyoming Medical Center on May 19

CASPER, Wyo. — Casper police believe they know the man who made an unfounded claim about possibly seeing a bomb at Banner-Wyoming Medical Center on the morning of May 19.

In that incident, 20 law enforcement officers responded and the Natrona County Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team did a floor-by-floor search, restricting non-emergency access to the hospital and roadways on the perimeter, according to Detective Andrew Hamilton’s report.

After the case was assigned, Hamilton listened to the recording of the 911 call, which came in at 4:11 a.m. that day. The caller stated, “Listen, I was there, and I think that someone has a bomb there. So I’m just calling in to tell you.”

Hamilton noted that the caller seemed out of breath.

Dispatch asked the caller where he was in the hospital. The caller said, “Just in the main part, anyways.”

The caller hung up after the next question.

Hospital security told Hamilton there hadn’t been any activity in the ER for the three hours prior to the report, and every other entrance would have been locked at that time.

The Casper-Natrona County Public Safety Communications Center logs showed the phone number had no subscriber service, but was still able to call out to 911. The GPS information said the call came from Evansville. Hamilton checked the area, but nothing was located.

The same number had reportedly called 911 eight days earlier, on May 11. That caller said it was accidental. He reportedly identified himself with the first name “Dylan” and confirmed his location to be in Bar Nunn.

A Natrona County Sheriff’s Office deputy went to the residence and contacted several people. One of them, 24-year-old New Mexico resident Caleb Jeremiah Bacallao, reportedly admitted that he’d accidentally called “and didn’t respond to officers because he did not like law enforcement,” the report said.

Hamilton listened to that call recording and noted a strong resemblance in the caller’s voice, as well as the use of “anyways” as a filler word.

Bacallao had no fixed address listed, and the people at the house in Bar Nunn said they’d told him not to come back after the May 11 incident. He was not located elsewhere.

Hamilton’s May 21 warrant request charges Bacallao with falsely reporting an emergency, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Bacallao has pleaded guilty in district court to a felony drug possession charge and two counts of theft over $1,000. In the second theft case, prosecutor Amanda Kirby told the judge Bacallao used a baby stroller to smuggle merchandise out of Walmart.

Bacallao has an agreement for probation in each felony case, with four to seven years suspended on one of them.

Public Defender Steve Mink said at the April 29 hearing that Bacallao had had his bond modified after getting accepted into Adult Drug Court. Part of his bond conditions were to work with the state corrections department on his presentence report and not violate the law.

Bacallao is presumed innocent of the false bomb tip unless found or pleading guilty.

The arrest warrant was issued on June 11.

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