Former OSU Student Pleads Guilty To Bomb Threat

It could be several months before a former OSU student is sentenced for a bomb threat that closed down part of the university last November. WOSU reports the man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Monday. Twenty-four-year-old Jonathan Birkemeyer admitted to sending the email to the FBI that stated nine bombs were placed in door jams in buildings around the OSU campus, including the Thompson Library and McPherson chemical laboratory. U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus will sentence Birkemeyer following a pre-sentencing investigation that could take up to 90 days. The maximum sentence is 10 years and a fine up to 250,000 dollars. U.S. Attorney spokesman Fred Alverson said testimony by one of Birkemeyer's former professors indicates the student may have been trying to get out of a test. "The professor said Birkemeyer was having a tough time making the transition from the military to being a full-time college student. Because of the threat the exam was canceled. But it was rescheduled and when Birkemeyer took the rescheduled exam he did not pass it," Alverson said. Birkemeyer, a former U.S. Marine, also has been charged with stealing a laptop and a digital listening device. Alverson said those charges could be worked in with the federal sentence.