HOUSTON (CN) - A 22-year-old Texan was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for threatening to bomb Texas State University.
Dereon Tayronne Kelley, of Bryan, was convicted in an April jury trial on three counts of using the Internet to send bomb threats to Texas State University officials, the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"According to evidence and testimony presented in court, Kelley used his cell phone and 'hacked' into his former girlfriend's Yahoo email account and sent three separate emails threatening to bomb the Admission's Office at Texas State University," prosecutors said in the statement. "Kelley's girlfriend was a former student at TSU.
"The defense attempted to convince the jury that the crime was committed by some other person. However, this assertion was contradicted by the email header and cell phone service provider records."
U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes also ordered Kelley to pay a $300 fine and $15,548.93 in restitution.
Texas State University is in San Marcos, 32 miles southwest of Austin. More than 34,000 students attend the school.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.