The Delta College student who posted a threatening message from SVSU’s campus on the social media platform Yik Yak accepted a plea agreement Thursday, Feb. 11.
Emmanuel D. Bowden on Thursday pleaded guilty as charged to making a false report or threat of terrorism, a felony that has a 20-year maximum penalty.
Bowden’s plea agreement calls for Saginaw County Circuit Judge James T. Borchard to sentence him to jail time instead of prison time. The judge made that determination after conducting a Cobbs hearing, in which the judge is informed of the facts of a case and the defendant’s criminal history.
The agreed-upon sentence was based on Bowden’s state sentencing guidelines, scored at 0 to 18 months, authorities said.
Bowden’s message, posted just after midnight Nov. 13, read, “I’m going to shoot every black person I can on campus. Starting tomorrow morning.”
This triggered an investigation that led to his arrest about nine hours after the message was posted.
His arrest warrant alleged he “did threaten to commit an act of terrorism and did communicate that threat to another person.”
Though he later called his message, according to MLive.com, a “terrible joke,” the language from his warrant comes from the statute related to the false report charge. The statute also states, “It is not a defense to a prosecution under this section that the defendant did not have the intent or capability of committing the act of terrorism.”
In exchange for Bowden’s plea, prosecutors will drop a credit card-related case that he, Javon Cooney and Omari Willis faced in connection with an Oct. 2 incident inside the C-Store.
Cooney and Willis have accepted plea agreements that called for them to plead guilty to attempted illegal use of a financial transaction device.
Borchard is scheduled to sentence Bowden, who remains free on bond, on March 24.
