"Prank call at airport could connect to prison time"

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Prank call at airport could connect to prison time
BY TONI HEINZL
The Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram


FORT WORTH, Texas - (KRT) - On July 25, a 19-year-old college freshman from
California was bored out of his wits waiting at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport
after his original flight to Los Angeles had been overbooked.

Deshon Brown admits that he used his cell phone to call airport dispatchers
that Friday shortly after 7 a.m. and threatened in a very low voice, "I'm
going to blow up the Delta terminal at 9 a.m."

It may have been the costliest cell phone call he ever made. Brown, a
criminal justice major at California State University at Long Beach, who
says he dreams of becoming a U.S. marshal, has been indicted on a federal
charge of threatening to destroy a building by means of fire or explosion.

If convicted, the charge could yield a maximum sentence of 10 years in
prison and a $250,000 fine.

On Wednesday, Brown pleaded not guilty during his arraignment before U.S.
Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil.

Douglas Greene, his defense attorney, does not deny that the college student
made several phone calls while waiting at Terminal E. But, the attorney
said, "He did not have any intent to cause any disruption or harm. It was a
juvenile prank."

A remorseful Brown, dressed in black slacks, a white shirt and tie, and
matching two-tone shoes, said in a short interview after the hearing, "It
was just a prank. I regret that I did it."

Brown, who is free on bond pending trial, could qualify for probation, but a
felony conviction would thwart his ambitions to work in law enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Schattman said such threats, even if no harm
was intended, have to be taken seriously.

Brown's calls prompted "a substantial law enforcement response" involving
airport police, FBI agents and officers from the Transportation Security
Administration, the prosecutor said.

"They did not treat it as a prank," Schattman said. "They couldn't afford
to."

Federal prosecutors in Fort Worth, who routinely handle federal crimes
committed at D/FW, average about one phone threat case every two years,
Schattman said. Some of these cases resulted in stiff prison sentences.

Police Chief Tom Shehan of the D/FW Airport Department of Public Safety said
police cannot afford to downplay the potential seriousness of a threat.

"All told, we worked on it for the better part of the day," he said.

His department responded with a large number of officers and used
explosives-sniffing dogs to check vehicles. Brown was arrested later that
day at the airport. An examination of the log of calls made from his cell
phone reflected calls made to the DPS communications center at the airport,
according to court records.

The terminal was not shut down as officers worked discreetly, making it very
unlikely that passengers would have noticed all the police activity behind
the scenes, the chief said.

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