Two men, Louis Shenker, 22, and Taylor Lyne, 27, have been indicted by a Queens County grand jury for making a terroristic threat and other felony charges for allegedly planting a fake bomb on top of a car at the Queens Place Mall in Elmhurst, Queens on January 4, 2021, said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Shenker turned himself in to police hours later. His co-defendant, Lyne, was arrested and arraigned
on the indictment on February 1, 2021.
District Attorney Katz said, “There is nothing amusing about a bomb hoax, and the defendants now face very serious charges. Planting a fake explosive in a shopping center creates chaos and fear and these two men are accused of setting up a device to look like a bomb and then fleeing the scene.”
Shenker, of Massachusetts, and Lyne, of California, both face charges for placing the false bomb, making a terroristic threat and abandonment of an animal. A husky was found by police in the trunk of the vehicle, he was rescued and was seemingly unharmed.
According to the charges, on January 4, 2021 at approximately 4:50 a.m., the two men were seen in the Queens Place Mall parking garage standing next to a black Tesla with a Nevada loaner license plate. The vehicle had its front hood, trunk and doors open. The two men had allegedly connected an electric-powered bike to the car.
About two hours later the Black Tesla was observed by an employee of
the mall covered in blankets, cardboard boxes with a Black Lives Matter sign attached and a dog inside the vehicle. Atop the car was a device with wires protruding from it and other mechanisms that made it look like a bomb set to explode.
Both Lyne and Shenker face seven years in prison if convicted.
Video by Oliya Scootercaster and Martin @tphotoguy (FNTV Freedomnews.tv)
