A Wichita Falls man who called in fake bomb threats was sentenced today to two years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Tommy Jay Hollis, 27, pleaded guilty in December 2021 to one count of making a hoax bomb threat. He was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor.
According to plea papers, Mr. Hollis admitted that posing as a friend, he submitted the bomb threat to the FBI National Threat Operations Center (NTOC) via tips.fbi.gov.
“I’m planning on bombing the downtown Wichita Falls,” he wrote in the tip, which was submitted on Aug. 30, 2021.
In an interview with law enforcement, Mr. Hollis admitted that he made the threat from an email account he created in his friend’s name in an attempt to cause law enforcement to arrest the friend. He claimed he did not intend to carry out an attack.
“Making threats to prompt a law enforcement response is dangerous and instills fear throughout the community,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “The FBI is proud to work with our partners at the Wichita Falls Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure that defendants like Mr. Hollis are held fully accountable for their actions.”
According to court documents, Mr. Hollis had a history of making threats in other people’s names.
Posting as another friend, he reported to the NTOC that he was allowing a two-year-old to play with loaded firearms.
“He is my son I beat him with my hand and rape him too,” he said in the tip, submitted on July 26, 2021.
A welfare check on the child in question revealed no firearms or visible injuries.
Several weeks later, Mr. Hollis, posing as that same friend, reported to a local principal that he planned to attack his school.
“I’m letting you know I plan on attacking your school,” he wrote in the tip, submitted on Aug. 16, 2021. “Please if you care about the kids and the little girls you will report immediately I need to be locked up.”
Based on the hoax threat, the Burkburnett ISD Police Department added extra officers to protect every school in the district for the next two days.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Wichita Falls Resident Agency conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Wichita Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Lo Galbo, Jay Weimer, and Taylor Winn prosecuted the case.