RALEIGH - Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that CHRISTIAN GERALD DESGROUX, age 59, of Raleigh, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle to 30 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.
According to information presented in court, DESGROUX, pretending to be a United States Federal Officer, utilized the 911 Raleigh-Wake Communication Center to report that a bomb was contained in a van, being operated by illegal immigrants, who were planning to take the bomb to Washington D.C.
As detailed in the public record, DESGROUX, falsely stated that while he was in pursuit of the vehicle, the occupants were firing at him. Eighteen Raleigh Police Officers responded resulting in Glenwood Avenue being shut down in both directions for over 45 minutes. Ultimately, Raleigh Police discovered the entire incident was a hoax.
At the time of this offense, DESGROUX, was serving a term of supervised release after pleading guilty to impersonating a military officer and landing a helicopter at SAS in Cary, North Carolina. Due to the revocation of his supervised release because of the current charge, the court imposed a 10 month sentence to run concurrently.
The case was investigated by the Raleigh Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Diaz prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
