HOT SPRINGS -- A Hot Springs man was sentenced last month to seven months in prison for calling in two bomb threats about a Hot Springs National Park facility during the October 2013 government shutdown, a Monday news release said.
Jeffrey Spahn, 52, was charged and convicted on a a violation of Title 18 United States Code 844(e) "using a telephone to willfully make a threat to damage or destroy a building by means of an explosive." He was also sentenced to 2½ years of federal probation and the collection of his DNA, the news release from the National Park Service said.
Spahn was held in custody until his sentencing on April 25, the release said.
On Oct.9, a National Park ranger was dispatched to Hot Springs Mountain Tower regarding a 911 call about a bomb there. The unidentified man said the tower had been rigged with detonation cord and that sensors had been placed around the area. A short time later, a second phone call came in reporting a bomb in the park that would explode if the government did not reopen the park.
Additional park rangers were called in to conduct a thorough search of the area. No explosives were found.
Through coordination with the Hot Springs Police Department, rangers determined that the call had originated from the area where Spahn resided.
During a police interrogation, Spahn said he was angry with the government and how the shutdown was implemented. He said that after drinking most of the evening with a friend, he called in the bomb threats using his intoxicated friend's cellphone, the release said.
Metro on 05/14/2014