Va. Man in Federal Custody For Threatening to Kill Ill. Cop

Dec. 9, 2011
A Pearisburg, Va., man is in federal custody on charges that he threatened to kill a Bloomington police officer and bomb the police station in retaliation for the dismissal of a federal lawsuit against the officer’s brother.

PEORIA - A Pearisburg, Va., man is in federal custody on charges that he threatened to kill a Bloomington police officer and bomb the police station in retaliation for the dismissal of a federal lawsuit against the officer’s brother.

Jonathan Willis, 36, was arrested by federal agents Wednesday in connection with a series of emails he allegedly sent to the Bloomington Police Department threatening to kill officer Paul Williams.

The officer’s brother was named in an unsuccessful lawsuit filed last year by Willis over allegations of criminal acts stemming from when Willis lived in Stanford. Willis’ allegations were investigated, but no criminal charges were filed.

Federal charges of interstate communication of a threat to injure were filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Peoria. A judge in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Va., ordered Willis held because he suffers from schizophrenia and "the evidence against the defendant having made the alleged threats is strong."

Bloomington police began their investigation into the threats after public affairs officer Dave White began receiving emails from Willis’ Hotmail account in February, according to legal papers filed in Peoria court.

On Wednesday night, White referred all questions about the case to the U.S. Secret Service in Springfield.

The five emails included in court records begin with a Feb. 15 message sent by Willis to the police department in which he alleges that Paul Williams threatened him if he pursued the federal lawsuit.

"Officer Paul Williams needs to be dealt with IMMEDIATELY! If I do not hear back from your department within the next 72 hours I will personally fly there to Bloomington and take care of this matter in person," Willis wrote.

In his final email dated Nov. 22, Willis allegedly asks, "What if I came in to your department and bombed the place, would that finally jar ... (you) into doing something?"

Willis admitted that he sent the emails and knew it was wrong, according to an affidavit filed in court by a federal officer who called Willis on Nov. 28 on the pretense that he was investigating public corruption in the Bloomington Police Department.

Willis’ federal lawsuit was closed Dec. 5 after a judge granted a defense motion to dismiss the case because Willis failed to properly file legal documents.

Willis filed the federal lawsuit asking for $7 million without the assistance of a lawyer.

Copyright 2011 The Pantagraph

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