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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, May 8, 2014 INCIDENTS Hot Springs NP Man Receives Prison Term For Bomb Threats A 52-year-old Hot Springs man was sentenced last month to seven months in prison followed by two-and-a-half years of federal probation and the collection of his DNA for his role in calling in two bomb threats to a park facility during the October 2013 government shutdown. J.S. was charged and convicted for a violation of 18 USC 844(e), “using a telephone to willfully make a threat to damage or destroy a building by means of an explosive.” He was held in custody until his sentencing on April 25th. On October 9th, Ranger Josh Ford was dispatched to the closed Hot Springs Mountain Tower regarding a 911 call concerning a bomb being placed there. The unidentified male said that the tower had been rigged with detonation cord and that sensors had been put in place around the area. A short time later, a second phone call came in reporting a bomb in the park. The caller reported that the bomb would explode if the government did not get its act together and reopen the park. Additional rangers were called in to conduct a thorough search of the area. No explosives were found and nothing appeared to have been tampered with. Rangers then turned their investigation to the origin of the call. The caller's cellular number was not displayed at the communications center during the two calls and no name was associated with the disposable type phone or registered through a national wireless network. However, the dispatcher could determine the cell tower that routed it. Rangers then proceeded to the area of the origination of the call. While near the tower, another 911 call came into dispatch reporting shots fired from the same area where the bomb threat had originated. About 20 law enforcement officers - rangers, state troopers, sheriff's deputies and city police officers - met at a pre-determined location to plan a strategy. While the plan was being worked, J.S. dialed 911 using his personal cellular phone to complain about open drug use in his neighborhood. During the call, the phone number of the caller and his complete address was displayed on the 911 console. The 911 operator reported to rangers that J.S.'s voice sounded similar to that of the anonymous bomb threat caller earlier that night. It was noted that J.S.'s residence was in the approximate location of where the cellular tower indicated the bomb threats had been made. When officers contacted J.S. about his 911 call regarding drug use, they noted he was wearing an empty cellular phone holder on his belt. J.S. agreed to show them the phone, which was used to report “drug activity” but not the bomb threats. Ford conducted a recorded, formal interview after J.S. waived his Miranda rights. During the interview J.S. said he was angry with the government and how the shutdown was implemented. He said that after drinking most of the evening with a friend it seemed like a good idea to call in the bomb threats using his intoxicated friend's cell phone. He added that he later got into an argument with his friend and that he had left with his cell phone. J.S. said that he later felt that he needed to call 911 on his personal cell phone to complain about drug usage. Ranger Josh Ford was the case agent. [John Hughes, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers): Yosemite NP - Law Day 2014 was celebrated in Yosemite on Friday, May 2nd. Over 200 students from area schools joined several federal judges and park officials to learn about the law and how laws were integral to the creation and management of the park. Glen Canyon NRA - On April 24th, the fifth Brent McGinn and Laurie Axelsen Scholarship was presented to a student at the Northern Arizona University Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program. Glacier NP - Twenty-three students recently completed the week-long H337/I-300/I-400 training course on command and general staff functions for local incident management teams. Southeast Arizona Group - On April 29th, visitor and resource protections rangers at Coronado National Memorial participated in an interagency cave SAR/EMS training course in Coronado Cave. Outer Banks Group - Mark Dowdle, currently the chief ranger at Boston NHP, will be joining the Outer Banks Group's management team as its new deputy superintendent. Colorado NM - Henry A. “Hank” Schoch, who retired from the park in 1994 after a 27-year ranger career, was recently honored when he was presented with his retirement law enforcement credentials. To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites: NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/ The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov). --- ### --- |