© 2024 WSIU Public Broadcasting
WSIU Public Broadcasting
Member-Supported Public Media from Southern Illinois University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Man Who Threatened "War on SIU" Gets Two Years

SIU Bomb Threat
FBI

A Chicago man who said he was seeking attention on a campus where he was bullied and harassed has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to making bomb threats in a self-declared "war'' on Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
Derrick Dawon Burns was sentenced Tuesday afternoon in federal court after admitting to sending four threatening letters to students, employees and campus police in 2012 and 2013. The FBI was also an intended recipient.

Three of the letters were entitled "The War on SIU.'' One was placed in a campus mail box and the others found in mail sorting machines. Burns also was accused of threatening campuses in five other states.

The former SIU student faced up to 10 years in prison for each charge.
 

PREVIOUS STORY:
A Chicago man who faces up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to making bomb threats in a self-declared "war'' on Southern Illinois University in Carbondale is headed back to federal court for his sentencing hearing.

Derrick Dawon Burns admitted in August 2015 to sending four threatening letters to students, employees and campus police in 2012 and 2013. The FBI was also an intended recipient.

Three of the letters were entitled "The War on SIU.'' One was placed in a campus mail box and the others found in mail sorting machines.

A sentencing hearing for the former SIU student is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in Benton.  He faces up to 10 years in prison for each charge.

Burns was found competent to stand trial after a psychiatric exam.
 

As a WSIU donor, you don’t simply watch or listen to public media programs, you are a partner. By making a gift, you help WSIU produce, purchase, and broadcast programs you care about and enjoy – every day of the year.