Fake bomb threat suspect out on bond

WOODSTOCK – A Union man accused of making a bomb threat from the parking lot of Huntley High School has been released from the McHenry County Jail.

Bond was cut in half Tuesday, to $15,000, for suspect Derek M. Habbley, 25. He posted the required $1,500. The former U.S. Marine is charged with a felony count of making the bomb threat Nov. 3. As a condition of bond, Judge Gordon Graham ordered Habbley not to use a cellphone or alcohol.

According to the criminal complaint, Habbley told a Verizon corporate security official that he hypothetically could have a bomb or explosive device in his red Ford Escape. He allegedly said he would drive his vehicle with explosives into a Verizon call center.

Habbley said he was in Huntley High School parking lot with a bomb in his backpack, authorities said. When officers arrived, they spoke with Habbley and he admitted making the threat, they said.

The Kane County sheriff’s bomb unit – dogs, a robot, X-ray machine and bomb technicians – was called in to inspect the backpack and vehicle. The backpack was stuffed with papers, books and pens and nothing to indicate the presence of explosive materials, authorities said.