Charges: Madison Lake man wrote, reported bogus bomb threat in workplace bathroom

(Mankato, MN) – A Madison Lake man faces felony charges after he allegedly wrote a bomb threat in permanent marker in his workplace bathroom.

Jonathan David VanEck, 21, was charged Thursday with threats of violence and terroristic threats with an explosive device in Blue Earth County Court.

According to the criminal complaint, police responded to a retail business on December 20th at 8:45 p.m.  VanEck called 911 to report a bomb threat written in Sharpie on the bathroom wall, according to the complaint.

The written threat apparently indicated the bomb would go off at 9 p.m. that evening.

Court documents say that officers didn’t discover anything in the bathroom or the surrounding areas that appeared to be a bomb.

On December 27th, officers received a call from the business stating that VanEck had submitted a signed confession and letter of apology for making the bomb threat.

VanEck told police he had been working at the business since July 2019, and was stressed out because of the scheduling.  He admitted to using a Sharpie to write the threat on the bathroom wall.  VanEck told investigators he then notified his manager and followed protocol, which included advising customers to leave the store and calling 911.

VanEck also faces a misdemeanor charge for falsely reporting a crime.

VanEck was summoned to appear in court, but a court date was not included in the complaint.