Ordered To Three Years' Supervised Probation - With No Alcohol

A Denver woman who made a bomb threat to Southwest Airlines last April has been sentenced in US District Court, Acting United States Attorney David Gaouette and FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis announced.

Terrice Gay Hutchinson, 53, of Denver, CO, was sentenced Thursday by US District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn to 3 years of supervised probation. Hutchinson was also ordered by Judge Blackburn not to drink alcohol during her supervised probation, according to the US Department of Justice.

On April 17, 2008, Hutchinson made the threat via a telephone call to Southwest Airlines. She stated that her husband was a passenger booked on a flight from Denver to Las Vegas, had a bomb and was planning to blow up the airplane. Both Southwest and the FBI investigated the report, finding that there was no bomb.

Acting US Attorney David Gaouette said, "Threats must be taken very seriously by law enforcement, and when they are falsely made, those who break the law will be pursued and prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows."

Hutchinson was indicted for the threat by a federal grand jury in Denver on June 16, 2008, and pled guilty before then Chief US District Court Judge Edward W. Nottingham on October 10, 2008.

FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis said, "The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate and seek prosecution in matters such as this one. The FBI appreciates the professional manner in which the airline, their personnel, DIA, TSA, and the Assistant United States Attorneys worked with our Agents to bring this matter to a successful resolution."

FMI: www.southwest.com, www.fbi.gov