Oxford Resident Charged with Threatening Communications

OXFORD, MS—Felicia C. Adams, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi; Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Mississippi; and Oxford Chief of Police Mike Martin announce:

Joshua Brandon Pillault, age 19 of Oxford, has been arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with (1) transmitting in interstate and foreign commerce a communication containing threats to kill and injure the person of another, and (2) willfully making threats, through the use of an instrument of interstate and foreign commerce, to kill and injure individuals and damage and destroy buildings by means of explosives. If convicted on these charges, Pillault faces maximum possibilities of 15 years’ imprisonment, $500,000 in fines and three years of supervised release.

Pillault appeared in the United States District Court on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, before U.S. Magistrate Jane M. Virden. He is being held in custody pending a preliminary hearing and detention hearing scheduled for Thursday, October 11, 2012, at 2 p.m. in Greenville before Magistrate Judge Virden. The arrest is based on federal charges. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

The arrest resulted from a cooperative investigation by the Oxford Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Mississippi Joint Terrorism Task Force. Also assisting in the investigation were the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The public should be assured that the threat of danger has been averted. However, the public is reminded to be vigilant in alerting any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.

Contact: John Marshall Alexander, Chief of Criminal Division, United States Attorney’s Office, Oxford, Mississippi, (662) 234-3351