Crime & Safety

Attention Deficit: Chicago Man Charged With Phony Matteson PD Bomb Story Was 'Trying to Get Attention,' Says Police Chief

A Chicago man hit with felony disorderly conduct charges admitted he was lying about a bomb he said was planted at the Matteson Police Department, the chief said.

A Chicago man charged with spinning a phony story about a bomb planted at the Matteson police station just wanted some attention, the acting police chief said.

"He told the detectives he was just trying to get attention," acting Matteson Police Chief Michael Jones said of alleged bomb plot prevaricator Michael Walton.

Walton, 33, passed word to a guard at the Will County jail that a bomb had been hidden somewhere in the Matteson police station. Waltoin was in custody for allegedly battering a woman named Khadijah Bradford in February and was hit with additional charges when he allegedly attempted to smuggle a handcuff key into the county jail when he was booked into the detention facility.

The guard reportedly alerted his supervisor and the supervisor had Walton put pen to paper and write out his claim. He also notified the Matteson police.

Matteson detectives interviewed Walton and he accused a friend of his ex-girlfriend of planting the bomb, Jones said.

Detectives spoke with the former girlfriend and determined Walton was lying, Jones said, and Walton later admitted he made the whole thing up.

Walton had no particular reason for picking the Matteson police for his bomb story, said Jones. In fact, the acting chief said, Walton claimed there were bombs planted at other suburban police stations as well.

"He doesn't have a connection to Matteson," Jones said. "Just picked us."

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