A former University of Minnesota engineering student has pleaded guilty to felony terroristic threats in connection with an incident last summer that led to a shutdown of Coffman Memorial Union.
Jason Robert Johnson, 35, allegedly left a bag holding gasoline-soaked towels and smoke flares in the student center in August, according to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court.
Workers in Coffman noticed the bag on the first floor of the building and notified campus officials. Police used bomb-sniffing dogs to go through the roughly 330,000-square-foot building, which was closed for a day.
University of Minnesota Police Chief Matthew Clark said investigators were able to identify Johnson after a review of surveillance video that showed him in different changes of clothes with different bags as he moved throughout the building.
Johnson began his studies at the U in the fall of 2006 and was enrolled continuously through the spring of 2010.
He has been charged with two felonies: intent to damage property with an explosive device and terroristic threats. He pleaded guilty to the latter. Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday in Hennepin County District Court.
TIM HARLOW
