Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Lies About Terrorism Send Local Man to Prison


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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