DANVERS — A New Bedford woman was arraigned Thursday on charges that she sent multiple emails to North Shore Community College campus police, falsely claiming her ex-boyfriend and his brother were about to "shoot up" and bomb the Danvers campus back in July.
Heather Perkins, 37, is facing charges all over the state stemming from similar emails she allegedly sent to police departments, colleges and other public buildings at the end of July, in what investigators believe was likely an attempt to frame her ex-boyfriend.
She pleaded not guilty to charges of threats to commit a crime, use of electronic communications to make a threat and making a bomb threat causing serious public alarm.
Starting on the evening of July 24, six emails with the subject line "bomb threat" began arriving in the inboxes of campus police officers and the department's chief, according to a police report.
The messages varied slightly but they all began with "Good evening, my name is Heather Perkins," and went on to identify her ex-boyfriend and his brother by name, along with their telephone numbers, according to the police report.
In one email, for example, Perkins allegedly wrote: "My boyfriend ... is gonna be at the campus center to shoot and put a bomb out there."
After an investigation, state police decided the threats were not credible, but still added additional police presence on campus the following day, according to the report.
North Shore Community College President Patricia Gentile sent an email to staff on campus advising them of a "nonspecific" threat and to be alert for anything unusual.
Similar emails had allegedly been sent by Perkins to nearly two dozen police departments, campuses and other public buildings on the South Coast and Cape Cod, as well as Mt. Wachusett Community College.
The New Bedford Standard-Times reported in July that both men named in the emails had sought restraining orders against Perkins as a result of the emails. They were not involved and were not charged, police said.
One of the emails had led to a brief evacuation of New Bedford City Hall.
Perkins was arrested in Dorchester on July 28. She's been in custody at the Bristol County House of Corrections, after being ordered held without bail on similar pending charges in New Bedford.
Prosecutors in Essex County have made the same request. Salem District Court Judge Robert Brennan agreed to schedule a hearing for Sept. 28.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.
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