San Angelo's Hoax Bomber Gets Jail Sentence

San Angelo’s hoax bomber received his sentencing Tuesday at the Tom Green County Courthouse. Sterling Dale Simpson, 28, pled guilty to two counts of hoax bombing, a class A misdemeanor. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $4000 fine. He was sentenced to 300 days in jail by County Court at Law 2 Judge Penny Roberts, 

According to Tom Green County Attorney Chris Taylor, Simpson had served 76 days in jail until his court hearing on Jan. 12, where he stood before the court representing himself without an attorney. He pled no contest and declined to have a court-appointed attorney. Simpson's hearing was originally scheduled for February, but was moved up. Overall, Simpson’s charges accounted to 300 days in jail served congruently for both hoax bombing charges to be served in the county jail. His 76 days already served count towards the 300-day sentence.

"The existing 300 days is probably reasonable under today's standards," said Fire Marshal and Texas Peace Officer Ross Coleman, who was the investigator in the bomb hoaxes. "However, it's unfortunate that in 2015-2016, the crime of a hoax bomb is a misdemeanor in Texas. It would be more appropriate for it to be a jail felony or a felony offense. With the terrorist threats today, there is too much lenience for these types of crimes. [Additionally], this offense doesn't go into the depth of time people had to take away from jobs, closing the streets, and everything else."

A report provided by the Tom Green County Attorney's Office said Bank of America on Sherwood Way was the first victim of Simpson’s hoax bomb threat on June 23. Coleman originally responded to a call about a man who reportedly threw a suspicious package inside the vault area of Bank of America and fled the scene. SAPD Officers investigated the incident and reviewed the video footage provided by the bank.

Unfortunately, San Angelo doesn’t have a bomb squad, but talks about developing one are being discussed between the San Angelo Police Department and TGSO. The nearest bomb squad is the Abilene Police Department Bomb Unit who wasn’t called out for this incident because the package was believed to be a hoax bomb due to the way Simpson threw the package into the vault area.

The building was evacuated so the San Angelo Fire Department could remove the package. Once the area was safe and secure and the contents of the package examined, which were discarded cookies, a balloon and several Ziplock baggies, duties at the bank returned to normal.

A downtown bank fell victim months later. At Wells Fargo at 36 W. Beauregard Ave., Simpson was accused of planting a suspicious package near the entrance to the underground garage on the night of Oct. 13^, which wasn’t found or reported until early in the morning on the 14^th. The package was left leaning against the security grill to the basement parking garage. The Abilene Police Department Bomb Unit was called and dispatched to investigate.

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Fire Marshal Ross Coleman was on scene here as well and addressed the concerns regarding evacuation of the Wells Fargo Building, noting that law enforcement follow nationally-recognized protocols for ensuring public safety.

The package was deemed a hoax bomb because of the applied printing labels showing a worldwide company. Additionally, nothing indicated the package belonged at the Wells Fargo building. The package was sealed with an excessive amount of tape and had a meat thermometer sticking out. After the bomb squad deemed all was safe, the contents of the box were examined. Found were papers, manuals, remote control and ink pens. Simpson’s name was printed on a pamphlet inside the package and the writing on the exterior was similar to the writing found inside.

These cases were not linked until the contents of the second incident were investigated and fingerprints were used to link them to Simpson. Simpson was then served with a warrant for his arreston Oct. 29, 2015 at his residence. He was arrested without incident.