A Michigan man was sentenced for two criminal cases related to a $5 million extortion plot using shrapnel-filled pipe bombs outside cellphone stores.
John Douglas Allen, 76, of Whittemore, Mich., was sentenced Nov. 9, by a federal judge to 75 months, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. Allen allegedly placed the pipe bombs outside cellphone stores in Cheboygan and Sault Ste Marie, Mich., in September of last year.
"This defendant sought to use terror, threats and bombs to scare ordinary people going about their business," U.S. Attorney for Michigan's Eastern District Dawn N. Ison said in the news release. "We will not tolerate individuals who use fear to try to line their own pockets."
On Sept. 15, 2021, Allen allegedly placed boxes with black tape attached "and a wire coming out" outside an AT&T Store in Sault Ste. Marie and a Verizon Store in Cheboygan, according to the news release. The two devices subsequently were examined by FBI laboratory Explosive Unit personnel who concluded both were improvised explosive devices, commonly referred to as pipe bombs. Both contained shrapnel.
"Allen's actions in placing pipe bombs in front of commercial businesses endangered not only the lives of innocent individuals, but also our first responders and the bomb technicians who rendered those devices safe," U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in the release. "My office will continue to aggressively pursue individuals for crimes like this that put our first responders and communities at risk."
Video footage taken by the cell phone stores and other nearby businesses, in addition to "an exhaustive investigation by law enforcement," Allen was determined to be the person who left both packages outside the stores, the news release said. Allen also allegedly left notes demanding $5 million on cell phone towers in the area and mailed to both telecommunications companies.
Allen's sentencing follows his guilty plea last summer to extortion by wrongful use of force, violence and fear, in addition to two counts of attempted destruction of a building using an explosive device. Allen also pled guilty to placing letters containing threats aimed at telecommunications providers at cell towers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, according to the news release.
Allen reportedly claimed he was motivated by what he viewed as "immoral content being spread on the internet and cellphones," the news release said.
The case involved two federal districts in Michigan, the Western District that includes Sault Ste. Marie and the Eastern District that includes Whittemore and Cheboygan. Allen was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Ludington in Bay City, Michigan, in the state's Eastern District, the release reported.
