MAN WHO MADE FALSE BOMB THREAT TO COURTHOUSE, WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER NOW GOES TO PRISON

DAVID ANTHONY FLOOD, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced to federal prison late yesterday on a charge of using a telephone to willfully and maliciously convey false information concerning an alleged attempt to damage and destroy buildings and to injure and kill people at the Richard Russell Federal Building at 75 Spring Street and the Woodruff Arts Center, located at 1280 Peachtree Street, both in Atlanta.

“This defendant will now spend a year in prison after making a few very serious phone calls. He made false bomb threats to accomplish another objective, which was to distract law enforcement from a nearby bank he was considering robbing,” said United States Attorney David E. Nahmias. “Law enforcement must take seriously all bomb threats; a false threat requires the same commitment of investigative resources as a real threat until we are certain no real danger exists.”

FLOOD was sentenced to one year, one day in federal prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. FLOOD pleaded guilty to the charge on September 11, 2007.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: On October 18, 2006, a bomb threat was made via telephone to the Atlanta 911 Communications Center. The call was recorded as follows: “Praise Allah, you have 13 minutes to clear the Richard B. Russell Building out and the Woodruff Arts Museum in Buckhead, otherwise 13 pounds of C-4 will explode.” The call prompted an emergency response from the Atlanta Police Department, along with the Department of Homeland Security Federal Protective Service, MARTA Police, Fulton County Police and United States Marshal Service. Law enforcement personnel and explosive detection canines from those agencies conducted a search of the federal courthouse but no bomb or C-4 explosives were found. Law enforcement agents were also dispatched to the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown, as well as Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta. No explosives or bombs were located at either location.

Telephone records led the agents to discover that FLOOD had made the call. FLOOD stated he had made the call to attempt to distract law enforcement so that he could rob a nearby bank, and that he was desperate for money. He ultimately did not rob the bank; he stated that he became frightened and abandoned the plan. FLOOD has no known affiliation to any terrorist group.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Monahan prosecuted the case, represented in court by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Moultrie.

For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-meus), United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.
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