Crime & Safety

Man Gets 16-Month Sentence For False Bomb Reports and Multiple Threats

The 25-year-old made criminal threats against a Pasadena middle school, a post office and the Pasadena Department of Health.

A 25-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 16 months in custody for making false bomb reports and criminal threats against a Pasadena middle school, a post office and the Pasadena Department of Health.

Gerardo Cortez, 25, has been jailed since his arrest last Oct. 25 for making the threats a day earlier during calls to the Pasadena Police Department.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elaine Lu said Cortez could serve his term in a county jail, according to Deputy District Attorney Greg Alker. Lu cited the recent death of Cortez' mother and the defendant's mental disability as reasons for allowing Cortez to stay in a local facility rather than being transferred to state prison.

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Alker argued for a longer term, given the string of threats against multiple locations and the fact that elementary and middle school students faced the "pretty scary event of being evacuated."

Washington Middle School was named by Cortez, and officials also evacuated nearby Washington Elementary.

Find out what's happening in Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During the string of threats and evacuations, streets were closed as the sheriff's bomb squad was called out and bomb-sniffing dogs were sent to investigate the threatened sites. The health department building was also evacuated.

City News Service


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