Keith Bowers Sentenced for Making Bomb Threats

Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Keith Bowers, aged 59, of Jessieville, Arkansas, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Clay D. Land on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, to serve one year and one day in federal prison for transmitting threats in interstate commerce.

Mr. Bowers entered a plea of guilty to the charge on December 18, 2013. As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Bowers admitted that on August 16, 2012, he placed two threatening telephone calls from Longview, Texas, to Carmike Cinema’s Columbus, Georgia headquarters. Using a Hispanic accent, Mr. Bowers expressed his displeasure with Carmike’s alleged practice of underpaying immigrant workers for cleaning services and stated that he was going to detonate an explosive during Carmike’s screening of a movie called The Expendables. At the time, Mr. Bowers was in the business of providing cleaning services to businesses, including Carmike, and was bitter about rival cleaning companies who allegedly hired illegal immigrant labor and were therefore able to undercut Mr. Bowers’ contract bids.

“We take threats seriously. In this case, Mr. Bowers not only caused unnecessary fear, he caused us to have to use precious law enforcement resources to track him down. He will have time to consider just how reckless he was as he sits in federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Moore.

The case was investigated by S/A Gordon Hurley and S/A Gabe Coulter with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melvin E. Hyde, Jr.

Inquiries regarding the case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.