ST. LOUIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors want a psychiatric examination for a Chicago man accused of mailing threats of beheadings, bombings and other violence to Southern Illinois University’s Carbondale campus, citing what they call his “pattern of disturbing behavior.”
The government requested Friday that Derrick Dawon Burns have his mental fitness tested, as prosecutors press to keep him jailed on charges related to threatening mailings he allegedly sent in 2012 and last year. A federal judge in Chicago ruled last week that Burns, 21, could be eligible for bond, but she stayed her decision while prosecutors appealed.
A hearing is scheduled Tuesday in Benton. Burns’ attorney, James Gomric, declined comment on Monday.
Investigators say most of the letters suggested SIU would be targeted with violence ranging from rapes to beheadings, use of pipe bombs, shooting rampages, the unleashing of “deadly chemical powder” on unsuspecting students, and arson. One of the mailings prompted the precautionary evacuation of the campus’ three dorms housing a combined 2,100 students.
“Give me $50 million or SIU is history,” one letter warned, according to the FBI.
The investigation took a turn in July, when a man with a distinctive voice called the FBI and campus police to anonymously report that a man he knew as “Big Russ” told him in October 2012 that he was behind the threats, FBI Special Agent Joseph Shevlin said in an affidavit. Both calls originated from a phone traced to Burns, Shevlin said.
When questioned in late August by the FBI in Chicago, Burns admitted being the “tipster” but denied involvement with the threatening letters. Fingerprint samples Burns supplied to investigators matched those found on four of the seven letters, Shevlin’s affidavit alleged.
“The letters demonstrate a deliberate and calculated effort to inflict fear and panic upon the SIUC community,” federal prosecutor William Coonan wrote in the request for Burns’ psychiatric testing.
Citing the year-long span in which the threats were sent, Coonan added, “these letters were not an isolated incident that occurred during a brief lapse in the defendant’s judgment.”
“The anonymous phone calls and the lengthy letter writing campaign, couple with the violent and extremely graphic nature of the threats, illustrates a pattern of disturbing behavior by the defendant,” Coonan wrote.
