Former Cortez Man Sentenced for Making Threats Against the Then-President Elect

DENVER—Timothy Ryan Gutierrez, age 21, formerly of Cortez, Colorado, was sentenced this afternoon by U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello to serve four years of probation, with the first 10 months in home detention with electronic monitoring, for threatening the then-president elect of the United States, Acting United States Attorney David Gaouette and FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis announced.  The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution totaling approximately $1,450 to Mall of America Security, as well as a $100 special assessment to a victims of crime fund. Gutierrez is free on a $25,000 unsecured bond.

Timothy Ryan Gutierrez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on January 27, 2009.  He pled guilty before Judge Arguello on May 4, 2009.  He was sentenced today, July 31, 2009.

According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on January 12, 2009, the FBI initiated an investigation after receiving two threatening e-mails via the FBI’s website, which is housed in Washington, D.C. The first threat stated, “I’m going to assassinate the new president of the United States of America. PS you have 48 hours to stop it from happening.”  A second threat sent around the same time to the same e-mail address stated, “what are you waiting for you have 48 hours remember and one more thing . . . I have rigged 40 pounds of C4 . . . my favorite TNT to 7 cars outside the Mall of America good luck thank you and God bless . . .”

The FBI immediately contacted the Secret Service regarding the threat to the president elect. They also contacted the FBI office in Minneapolis, which resulted in law enforcement activity at the Mall of America.  Subsequent investigation revealed that the threats were sent from an IP account located in Andrews, Texas. The account holder there told authorities that the messages likely came from her son, who lived in Cortez, Colorado. 

FBI agents went to the apartment in Cortez, where the e-mails originated. A Toshiba laptop computer was seized. Later, the owner of the laptop, Timothy Gutierrez, claimed he had sent the e-mails, but that he did not place any explosive devices at the Mall of America nor did he intend to assassinate the then-president elect.

“Threats against our public officials are taken seriously,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David Gaouette. “They are acted upon immediately, and those responsible will be held accountable.”

“I would like to thank those who spent time on this investigation as a result of Mr. Gutierrez’s threatening communications, especially the United States Secret Service and the Cortez Police Department,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Secret Service (USSS), and the Cortez Police Department.

Gutierrez is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Mydans.