Chicago Man Pleads Guilty To Mailing Bomb Threats And Threats Of Violence Against Southern Illinois University

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today that Derrick Dawon Burns, 22, of Chicago, Illinois, pled guilty in federal court to four federal charges stemming from a series of bomb threats and threats of violence directed toward Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIUC) students, faculty and staff on October 10, 2012, October 15, 2012, December 6, 2012, and October 1, 2013. Three of these letters were entitled "The War on SIU." Each letter was addressed to a combination of the following targets: Southern Illinois University, staff, student, SIU police, and the FBI.

Sentencing is set for December 8, 2015, in the United States District Court in Benton. Each charge of Willfully Making a Bomb Threat carries maximum penalties of ten years in federal prison, three years supervised release, a $250,000 fine and a $100 special assessment. Burns was ordered to remain detained, that is, held without bond, pending sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the SIUC Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistance was provided by the Carbondale Police Department, the Illinois Secretary of State Bomb Squad, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Illinois State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Coonan.