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Montebello man admits to sending bomb threats to security guard — and himself

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A San Gabriel Valley man could be sentenced to a decade in federal prison after he admitted to sending a bomb threat to a security guard at the bank at which he worked, and then sent another to himself in an effort to evade suspicion.

Montebello resident Daniel Isaac Gonzalez, 23, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of making a threat and conveying false information through interstate commerce to kill another person and to damage and destroy buildings by means of an explosive, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

On July 13, 2023, Gonzalez, an employee of Cathay Bank in El Monte, sent a text message to a bank security guard that said, “I put a bomb where u work [expletive] I know where u work bank,” prosecutors said.

Gonzalez sent another message on July 26, 2023, almost two weeks later, to his own work telephone that said, “This Michael you did me dirty. I put a bomb by your job guy [expletive] you and see you in hell bitch. -anonymous 909,” prosecutors said.

While the threats were false, Gonzalez admitted in his plea agreement that they “concerned an attempt to kill, injure, and intimidate the victim, and to unlawfully damage and destroy a building and other property by means of an explosive. He also admitted that his conduct resulted in a substantial disruption of public, governmental or business functions or services.”

Gonzalez is free on bond until his sentencing hearing on Oct. 25. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.