Arrest made in bomb threat
Published 10:30 am Thursday, April 16, 2009
An arrest has been made in the case of a bomb threat called into Quality Pork Processors early Wednesday morning.
The subject, a 20-year-old male illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in connection with the case.
The subject is accused of making the call at about 6:50 a.m. Wednesday to the medical department and leaving a message. QPP was then evacuated as a precaution. There was no bomb found.
According to the Austin Police Department reports, call records were able to point out that the subject put in a call to QPP at 6:50 a.m. Detective Travis Heickley, who was investigating the case, got the number that matched up with the owner of the phone who told police he had given it to the cousin of his girlfriend, the subject in question.
The account holder was able to line up a meeting with the subject and Heickley, and the subject was arrested. At that time the suspect was discovered going by an alias, as confirmed by an ID card the subject had in his possession for QPP.
When the suspect was questioned, he told police through an interpreter that he had woken up for work that morning, but fell back asleep. Realizing he would be late for work, the man claimed to have called in sick at the time the threat was called in.
Heickley suspended the investigation in order to confirm the story with QPP who had no record of the subject calling in sick at the time of the threat.
Heickley then said he confronted the subject about the inconsistency, but he maintained his story.
The case has been forwarded on to the county attorney’s office. He may face charges of felony aggravated forgery and felony terroristic threats.
The suspect was not named pending charges.