Mom made bomb threat against high school after learning daughter was 'not allowed to participate' in school play

Inset: Crystal Royster (Macomb County Prosecutor's Office). Background: Lake Shore High School in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, where Royster called in two bomb threats (Google Maps)

A 42-year-old mother in Michigan will be spending time behind bars for making a false bomb threat against a suburban Detroit high school because her daughter was barred from participating in the school play after being sick that day.

Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Michael E. Servitto last week ordered Crystal Royster to serve two weeks in the county jail followed by an additional 18 months of probation, authorities announced.

The sentence was handed down after Royster reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a false report or threat of a bomb. She had been facing a maximum possible sentence of four years in a state correctional facility.

Servitto credited Royster with three days of time already served, records show.

According to a news release from the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, on March 12, 2025, Royster placed two phone calls to Lake Shore High School in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, each time falsely reporting that there was a bomb in the building.

Police said that Royster called the school after being notified that her daughter was "not allowed to participate in the school play."

"The daughter could not participate per school policy due to being sick and going home earlier that day. Over 700 people were evacuated from the building," the release states. "St. Clair Shores Police and other jurisdictions cleared the school and no explosives were located."

In addition to the standard terms of probation, Royster must also notify the school before being present on school grounds and complete a "Class A impulse control" course. The judge also prohibited Royster from having contact with any of the victims of her threats.

"The defendant was sentenced today for making a false bomb report that resulted in a significant emergency response," Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement following the sentencing. "While the court determined that probation was the appropriate outcome, her actions nonetheless caused disruption and concern within the community."

Royster's attorney, Daniel Garon, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.