Lohmann faces

nine counts of

terroristic threats

By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

ST. PETER -- A 19-year-old North Mankato man made his third appearance in Nicollet County Court Monday on charges of making terroristic threats against students at Minnesota valley Lutheran High School in January.

Brandon David Lohmann, who is still in custody in Nicollet County Court on $50,000 bail, was arrested Jan. 31 at his home at 605 Wall Street, North Mankato.

Finding probable cause, Lohmann's next court appearance will be Monday.

When the initial complaint was filed in Nicollet County on Feb. 2, Lohmann was charged with two counts of terroristic threats. New evidence and further investigation prompted the filing of an amended complaint.

The amended complaint, which was presented in court Monday, charges Lohmann with nine counts of terroristic threats. Each count holds a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

"That doesn't necessarily mean he will, if convicted, serve nine consecutive terms," Nicollet County Attorney Michael K. Riley Sr. said. "There are a lot of factors that can come into play."

Terroristic threats by computer is a totally new field for law enforcement officials, who have had to deal with increases of child pornography on the Internet, Riley said.

"Most cases of terroristic threats are in the form of letters and phone calls, so this opens up a new area for the court systems," Riley said.

Investigators with the FBI and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are going over the Gateway computer and all components found at Lohmann's residence for further evidence. Their findings will be released this week for use in next week's court appearance.

Upon further investigation following the filing date of the first complaint, and leading up to filing of the amended complaint, investigators heard from MVL seniors who had received e-mail at their personal computers in New Ulm, Gibbon, Winthrop, Butterfield and St. James, as well as one who had received e-mail on a school computer, according to the amended complaint.

Another student reported a different type of e-mail received on Jan. 28, the date of the alleged incident involving Lohmann. The e-mail contained a similar message, but answered two questions asked by the other student.

The first question was "How successful will you be do you think?" The answer was given as "I will be, then Ima come and kill you people, ya ain't livin very mucch (sic) longer, make your peace with your ... god.

The second question was "When do you think you will die?" The answer was given as "I will live for a long time, you will all die by the age of 25. I tend to hate people to the point where I plan there death, can't you guess who is going to die NEXT?"

Lohmann had no ability to carry out his threats, according to court testimony.

The complaints stem from an alleged series of e-mail threats sent to seniors at MVL, where Lohmann was a student prior to his expulsion in April 1998. The threats were in connection with a planned senior trip to California later this month and indicated that something would happen if the students made the trip. The trip has since been planned for another location that has not been released.

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