Satanic bomb threat ends in prison sentence for pedophile

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal - 2/25/2021

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced to more than two years in prison a 46-year-old man who admitted to sending a bomb threat, peppered with Satanic references, to the Texas court that sent him to a civil commitment center for high-risk sex offenders.

Justin Allan Wetzel, 46, pleaded guilty in September to a federal count of making a threat through the mail.

He admitted to sending a threatening letter to a district court in Montgomery county that ordered him confined at the civil commitment center in Littlefield. He also sent a threatening letter to a Best Buy return center.

"That's obviously a very serious offense," U.S. District judge Wesley Hendrix told Wetzel, who appeared in person for the hearing.

Wetzel, who is being held at the Terry County Jail, faced a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. However, a pre-sentencing report provided Hendrix with a recommended range of 21-27 months in prison.

Hendrix told Wetzel that his conduct was "completely unacceptable" and handed down a prison sentence at the top of the guideline range.

Wetzel declined an invitation to address the court.

Wetzel pleaded guilty in October 2006 to two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact and one count of indecency with a child in exchange for three concurrent 12-year sentences, court records state.

The children he abused were aged 5-8, according to the Texas sex offender registry.

Wetzel also has previous convictions for sexual assault and a juvenile adjudication for indecency with a child.

He served 10 years and seven months of his sentence and was released on parole in April 2015.

However, state prosecutors filed to have Wetzel civilly committed, saying he fit the criteria of a sexually violent predator with a behavioral abnormality that makes him likely to engage in a predatory act of sexual violence.

In September 2015, jurors in the 435th District Court in Conroe found Wetzel was a sexually violent predator and the court ordered him civilly committed.

A year later, the Ninth Court of Appeals of Texas upheld his commitment.

In the handwritten letter addressed to the 435th District Court, Wetzel expressed frustration in his continued confinement, saying, "I've done 15 (years) on my 12 (year) sentence," Wetzel wrote. "This place here is a ------- prison."

Wetzel's letter goes on to threaten the court:

"You crooks think we're rendered harmless? Wrong!! the 435th district court of Conroe TX shall make retribution with their lives," Wetzel's letter states. " An associate of mine of a certain 'organization' will place an undetected BOMB in an unnamed location on an unnamed date in the month of May 2020, in the court bldg. somewhere near 435th. Not a joke!! My 'Guy' is a pro, and is not to be underestimated. You will pay. Your location: ... is now the Devils (sic) Playground!! No negotiations."

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The letter was signed, "The Devils Advocate" and included what appeared to be the Satanic reference of an inverted pentagram in a circle with the numbers 666.

Officials at the U.S. attorney's office said there was no evidence that tied Wetzel to a Satanic organization.

Montgomery County Courthouse officials sent the letter to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Investigators traced the letter to Wetzel with the help of the United States Postal Service.

Wetzel admitted to sending the note, saying he wanted to instill fear, panic and terror in the people at the Montgomery County courthouse.

"Wetzel said that if he was not confined at the TCCC, then he would follow through on his threat to bomb the courthouse," according to a factual resume. "Wetzel said that he had experience with explosives and that blowing up the courthouse would bring him satisfaction."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Satanic bomb threat ends in prison sentence for pedophile

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