Authorities Name Man Accused In Waukesha Courthouse Bomb Scare

WAUKESHA, WI – Authorities in Waukesha County say a man has been arrested after a report of a bomb threat at The Waukesha County Courthouse Monday morning.

On Tuesday, Waukesha County Sheriff's officials identified the accused as Jeffrey Ferrick, a 55-year-old Delafield man.

Authorities said Ferrick was arrested around 4:20 p.m. Monday at his home in Delafield. Ferrick declined to speak with investigators after an initial attempt to question him. "Mister Ferrick has declined to talk to us as is his right," Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson said. "Knowing why is just speculation."

Ferrick made his initial appearance in Waukesha County Circuit Court on Tuesday. He has been charged with felony bomb threat, and a second felony charge of making terrorist threats. He's also been charged with misdemeanor bail jumping. He's being held on a $150,000 cash bond. He's due back in court on Jan. 9 for a hearing.

Ferrick had an open criminal case filed in June, 2018. In that case, he had been charged with two counts of theft. One count was a felony case for theft of property greater than $10,000, and the other a misdemeanor for theft of property less than $2,500, according to court records.

According to court records, Ferrick's wife filed for divorce on Jan. 7 - the same day charged were filed against him related to the bomb threat.

On Tuesday, Severson said after a thorough search, no bombs were ever found. The courthouse opened Tuesday morning after authorities searched the entire complex top-to-bottom on Monday.

Waukesha Sheriff's Captain Frank McElderry said in a press conference that Monday's events were "stressful at times," including the evacuation from the courthouse.

As part of their investigation, Waukesha Sheriff's officials released a photo of Ferrick after he was spotted at a local hospital. Authorities said the surveillance photo was taken at the Aurora Medical Center in Summit. The second phone call was traced back to the Waukesha Memorial Hospital.

Severson said he first learned of the tip at just before 9 a.m. Monday when a then-anonymous tipster contacted FOX 6 in Milwaukee over the threat. FOX 6 then alerted Severson of the threat. Authorities say a second call was received at 9:10 a.m., by Waukesha County Communications from a second then-anonymous tipster, who provided similar information to the first call.

"We had about eight minutes to do an analysis. I made the determination that discretion was the better part here," Severson said. "I'm satisfied we took the safest course of action."

At a press conference, Monday Severson said the then-anonymous tipster warned that there were a total of five bombs planted in the building with the first one set to go off at 9 a.m. No bombs ever went off, nor were found.