Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

DOJ seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Northern District of Indiana
Thomas L Kirsch II, United States Attorney
Contact: Ryan Holmes
www.justice.gov/usao-ndin
For Immediate Release
Thursday, September 10, 2020

South Bend, Indiana Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison

For Calling in a Bomb Threat to a South Bend FedEx Facility

SOUTH BEND –Jessie Richardson, 33, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio upon his plea of guilty for making a threat to injure through a means of interstate communication, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

Richardson was sentenced to 33 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

United States Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II said, “Mr. Richardson has shown a pattern of threatening behavior in the past, culminating in him calling in bomb threats to FedEx. I want to thank the law enforcement team that worked this case and want others to know that threatening people over the phone or internet could focus my Office’s attention on you.”

According to documents in this case, in November 2019 Mr. Richardson called a FedEx facility in South Bend over 200 times in less than a month. On the evening of November 12, Richardson called a FedEx call center since it was too late to get through to the local facility in South Bend. During this call he told the call center that there was a bomb in the building and that the building was going to blow up. The following day, he called the South Bend facility directly and stated that there was a bomb in the building and he hoped the people inside were ready to die. The building was evacuated for safety so law enforcement could investigate. Mr. Richardson has three prior convictions for intimidation and one for invasion of privacy where he violated a protection order.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly E. Donnelly.

###

ATF.gov

An official website of the U.S. Department of Justice

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov