News release from NBPD. On Sunday, September 13, 2015 at approximately 6:00 pm, a Bomb Threat was reported to the Coos County 911 Dispatch Center. In the report, the caller stated that an explosive device had been placed at the Mill Hotel and Casino located at 3201 Tremont Avenue in the City of North Bend. The caller, identified only as a male, gave no specific location or description of the device. A subsequent search of the Mill Hotel and Casino property failed to locate any suspicious packages or devices. Just prior to the report, North Bend Police Officers had been observing a residence located in the 3300 block of Sherman Avenue. The residence in question was a location known to be associated with narcotics and narcotics activity. Of particular interest to the officers was the presence of a vehicle at the residence known to be associated with Christopher Michael Gericke, DOB: 05/22/1979, a resident of Coos County. Gericke was at the time, the subject of numerous outstanding arrest warrants. During subsequent investigation, the North Bend Police Department learned that Gericke had placed the call to 911 and reported the bomb threat at the Mill Hotel and Casino in an effort to draw officers away from the residence on Sherman Avenue that Gericke was occupying. When officers were diverted from the residence to respond to the bomb threat at the Mill Hotel and Casino, Gericke as well as others inside the home fled from the location. Gericke is currently incarcerated at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville on unrelated charges. Charges against Gericke including Disorderly Conduct II, Initiating a False Report and Improper Use of the 911 Emergency Reporting System will be referred to the Coos County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution in connection with the bomb threat at the Mill Hotel and Casino on Sunday, September 13, 2015.
