A Las Vegas man was indicted by a U.S. Federal Grand Jury in Roanoke today for sending threatening e-mails, via interstate commerce, to various persons by a computer server located at Virginia Tech.

Johnmarlo Balasta Napa, 27, of Las Vegas was charged with two counts of transmitting in interstate commerce, from Henderson, Nevada, an electronic mail communication to a computer server located at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg.

According to the indictment, Napa sent the threatening e-mails to two former Virginia Tech students on the night of April 15, 2008. The defendant sent the messages from an e-mail account bearing the name “ This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .” The recipients of the e-mails were not acquainted with Napa and are no longer students of the university.

If convicted on all counts, the maximum penalty faced by Napa is 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $500,000.

“In the wake of the tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech just over one-year ago, we approach every potential threat of violence with extreme caution,” Acting United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley said today in a press release. “The law enforcement officials both in Nevada and here in the Western District did a fantastic job in diffusing this situation quickly.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Henderson, Nevada Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Office in Las Vegas, Nevada conducted the investigation of the case. Acting United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley will prosecute the case.

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