CEDAR CITY – An Iron County Jail inmate who threatened the life of a sergeant while incarcerated in February, and wrote notes to staff about plans to blow up the jail, the White House and murder the president, was taken into custody Sunday by Cedar City Police.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest, Sunday, David Grant Torrey, 23, residing on the 400 block of 300 West in Cedar City, threatened the life of a sergeant while he was incarcerated in February.
The statement said Torrey had been angry about a disciplinary measure the sergeant had imposed on him. Authorities then searched his cell and found a note he allegedly wrote that said, “(I plan to) bomb this jail when I get released.”
The following day, the statement said, Torrey passed another note to a deputy that laid out plans to bomb a multitude of government and public buildings, including the White House and the Capitol.
“He also stated that he was planning to kill the president of the United States and his family as well as anyone who gets in his way,” the statement said.
Though the incidents took place Feb. 10 and 11, Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett said, charges were not made formal until April 14. Part of the holdup was that Torrey had been released from the jail before the charges were filed, and his whereabouts were unknown.
It is still early in the proceedings, Garrett said, but in cases like these a psychological evaluation typically is requested by the prosecution to assess mental stability.
Torrey was charged with threat of terrorism, a second-degree felony, and threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor. Charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 1-15 years in prison for the felony and up to six months in prison for the misdemeanor.
As of Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Torrey remained in the custody of the Iron County Jail. Bail was set at $25,000 cash or bond.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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Is it just me? Or do we have a Hitler knockoff without the mustache? Someone give him a black sharpie to finish the job!
Inspector Clouseau?