Man accused of WSU threats faces charges

COLFAX - The man accused of making three bomb threats at Washington State University, including one that appeared to be racially charged, made his preliminary appearance in Whitman County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon.

Jose A. Tecuatl, 18, a residential adviser at Stimson Hall, faces three felony counts of threatening to bomb, and three counts of felony harassment for making threats to kill.

According to court documents, Tecuatl was the first to notify university police of swastikas in Stimson Hall on Aug. 21. He called to report more swastikas and a bomb threat later that night, which resulted in an evacuation of the residence hall.

On Aug. 23, Tecuatl contacted police again about a bomb threat written on a whiteboard in the library of Stimson Hall.

Then, on Aug. 24, he contacted police a third time and said a threat had been slipped under his door.

That note, typed in all capital letters, included the names of every residential advisor in the hall and threatened a 1 a.m. bomb. It went on to say there were bombs placed around campus.

University police searched Tecuatl's room and laptop on Aug. 27, and allegedly found a Microsoft Word file that contained the same threatening note in the same font, created about five minutes before Tecuatl notified police of the similar note slid under his door.

Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy recommended a $50,000 bond, and that Tecuatl not be allowed within 1,000 feet of any WSU campus in the state.

Tecuatl's Defense Attorney Michael J. Pettit, of Pullman, disagreed with the recommendation and said it would end Tecuatl's college career before he was ever found guilty of committing a crime.

"I urge you to think twice about ending his college education on such sparse information," Pettit told the court. "Frankly it seems more of a civil matter and WSU can make a decision on that."

Despite Pettit's pushing, Whitman County Superior Court Judge Gary Libey set Tecuatl's bond at $50,000 and agreed to ban him from coming within 1,000 feet of campus.

"For your own safety, you shouldn't go back to WSU," Libey said. "If people think you did this, you're not going to be welcome in Pullman, I can tell you that much. All these people ... have been threatened and scared a bomb could kill their friends."

"And these swastikas are at a point in time people are very conscious about those emblems and those statements," he said. "You picked a very poor time to allegedly commit these crimes."

If convicted, Tecuatl faces a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000 for each threatening-to-bomb charge and up to five years and $10,000 for the felony harassment charges.

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Josh Babcock can be reached at (509) 339-3423, or by email to jbabcock@lmtribune.com.