ATLANTA—Henry Guy Jones, 51, of
Marietta, Georgia, who falsely claimed that he was hired by terrorists to build
a weapon that could contain a combustible, poisonous, or a toxic substance that
would be exploded or released onboard a commercial passenger airplane, was
sentenced today before United States District Court Judge Steve C. Jones to
almost three years in prison, announced United States Attorney Sally Quillian
Yates.
“The defendant diverted much-needed
federal resources dedicated to address true threats of terrorism to investigate
his web of lies,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the
Northern District of Georgia. “Lying to federal agents has serious
consequences, particularly when the lies create the impression that terrorists
were taking very real steps to create a destructive device could be used
onboard a commercial airplane.”
Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in
Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, “The FBI relies on and receives
information from the public concerning many investigative matters as well as
national security matters. The vast majority of that information is from solid
citizens trying to assist their government in providing for a safe and secure
nation. Occasionally, for varying motives, the FBI is engaged by individuals
who choose to fabricate stories that not only waste valuable investigative
resources but can have far-reaching implications if that information were acted
on. The FBI cannot and will not tolerate such incidents as was presented in
this case.”
Jones was sentenced to two years, 10
months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The
court remanded Jones to the custody of the U.S. Marshals at the conclusion of
the sentencing. There is no parole in the federal system. Jones pleaded guilty
to the charge on April 18, 2012.
According to United States Attorney
Yates and the information presented in court: In February 2010, Henry Guy Jones
contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and stated that he was aware of
two Jordanian nationals and a United States citizen who were conspiring to
build a destructive device that could contain a combustible, poison, or a toxic
substance that would be exploded or released onboard a commercial passenger
airplane. He further stated that these individuals had hired him to build this
destructive device. The defendant repeated this story to FBI agents several
times. When questioned about certain inconsistencies in his story, Jones sought
to create evidence of the existence of these three individuals, built a
prototype device, and provided that device to the FBI. In June 2010, Jones
finally admitted that his statements to agents had been entirely false, that
there was no such terrorist plot, and he had never been contracted to build a
destructive device.
This case was investigated by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Jill E.
Steinberg prosecuted the case.
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