AUGUST 28, 2013
Bomb threats against Sheriff Arpaio and office on upsurge as another suspect is indicted
Four bomb threats in last four months
PHOENIX – Bomb threats against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his office are keeping investigators busy as yet another suspect is indicted.
On Monday, August 19, 2013 a Boston, Massachusetts man was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury and a warrant was issued for 47 year old Robert Paul Menard. Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies traveled to and tracked down Menard in Massachusetts after he threatened to bomb the Sheriff’s office several days ago.
This is the fourth bomb threat against Arpaio or his office since April.
*In late July, a male suspect from Alberta, Canada threatened to brutally murder Arpaio, his wife and his children and extended family members and then bomb his home. That crime is still under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Sheriff’s deputies here in Phoenix initiated the investigation and identified the suspect after intercepting an email sent by the man.
*In April, a bomb capable of serious injury or death and addressed to Sheriff Arpaio was intercepted by U.S. Postal authorities in Flagstaff. That investigation is ongoing by federal authorities.
*In May, the Sheriff’s Office new headquarters building now under construction at 5th Avenue and Jackson in downtown Phoenix was targeted by unknown persons. A threatening message was inscribed on the building indicating a bomb had been placed inside. No arrests have yet been made.
Other recent threats against the Sheriff and his office not involving explosive devices have been initiated and investigated by Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies resulting in arrests/charges.
*In June, Cesar Nunez, made known his intention to kill Arpaio and was tracked down by Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies. Deputies travelled to California and worked with local authorities there to charge the suspect.
*In July, a Peoria, Arizona suspect, Fred Cusick, threatened to kill the Sheriff and was arrested and booked into jail.
*In February, Ignacio Carbajal was arrested by Sheriff Arpaio’s deputies who tracked him to a location in Scottsdale. Carbajal threatened to travel from his family’s home in Mexico to Arizona to kill Sheriff Arpaio.
All three aforementioned threats against Arpaio came as a result of the Sheriff’s widely known stance on illegal immigration.
Brian Mackiewitz, lead Sheriff’s investigator in the threats against Arpaio, says that the escalation in number and the gravity of these recent threats lead him to believe these are “increasingly dangerous times for Sheriff Arpaio and members of this office and that all Sheriff’s employees must be on the alert and watchful.”
