Ohio Inmate Charged with Mailing Threats to Officials and Newspapers
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Ohio inmate has been charged with writing at least 15 threatening letters containing powder to various officials and newspapers throughout the state of Ohio.
Sean Heisa, 35, was indicted by a grand jury yesterday on two counts of making false information or hoaxes and 13 counts of mailing threatening communications.
According to the indictment, from July 2017 to July 2018, Heisa mailed threatening letters to various officials throughout the state of Ohio, including the city manager of Painesville, Ohio, and a magistrate judge in Whitehall, Ohio.
Heisa also allegedly threatened via letter officials within the Coshocton Municipal Courthouse, Franklin County Common Pleas Court, and the Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine through threatened exposure to anthrax and the use of explosive devices.
Additionally, Heisa sent threatening letters to the former Ohio prisons director, the Columbus Dispatch, the Circleville Herald, and The Ohio State University, threatening exposure to fentanyl.
Heisa was charged by criminal complaint in December 2018 and arrested in January 2019. Creating false information/hoaxes and mailing threatening communications are each federal crimes punishable by up to five years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI, and Assistant United States Attorney Jessica W. Knight, who is prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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