Jayleen Mota, Threatening Interstate Communications, New York 2023

Jayleen Mota, a 21-year-old Bronx woman, was arrested on April 16, 2023, and charged with making threatening interstate communications. Mota allegedly threatened to shoot up a popular nationwide chain restaurant and sports bar located on LeCount Place in New Rochelle on Saturday night.

The arrest was announced by Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Robert Gazzola, the Commissioner of the New Rochelle Police Department.

According to the complaint, Mota sent a series of text messages in which she threatened to commit a mass shooting at the crowded New Rochelle restaurant. The messages stated that there would be a "massacre" and "lots of people are going down." A subsequent text message stated that "Today’s a busy night because of the game DON’T TAKE ME AS A JOKE lots of people will die DON’T CALL THE STORE AND RUIN MY PLANS I’m gonna make the news."

The New Rochelle Police Department received two calls on April 15, 2023, one from an individual who had received the initial text message and another from a second individual who had received an identical message. The police were able to trace the phone number back to Mota’s apartment, where they found her and the cellphone from which she sent the threats.

After informing Mota of her Miranda rights, she consented to being interviewed and admitted that she had sent text messages threatening to shoot up the Victim Restaurant to five individuals. Mota is charged with making threatening interstate communications, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The arrest is a testament to the swift action of the New Rochelle Police Department and the FBI in quickly tracking down the threat. The case highlights the importance of taking threats of violence seriously and holding individuals accountable for their actions.

Mota is scheduled to be presented in White Plains federal court later today before United States Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause.

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