David Lefever arrested for shooting spree threat
Categories: Weird Wisconsin
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| David Lefever's threatening online post got him arrested. |
David Lefever wrote the message Tuesday, telling blog readers that he was going to "Go on a shooting spree in Appleton, WI." Lefever indicated that he'd carry out his threat on Wednesday. Radio station staffers contacted Appleton police, who arrested Lefever yesterday.
Appleton Police say Lefever was not in possession of a weapon at the time of his arrest, and the charges he's facing are relatively minor. But they certainly reacted as if his threat was a real one.
"I think you would have to agree that in the day and age we're living in, any time there are threats made like that ... we need to take them seriously," Appleton Police Sergeant Pat DeWall said. "Even if this person doesn't have a violent past, you have to always assume the worst, and hope for the best."
The pending charges against Lefever, which the district attorney's office will use in a hearing at 3:30 p.m. today, are one count of unlawful use of computerized communication and another of disorderly conduct.
According to the Appleton Post-Crescent, Lefever requested the radio station play the Megadeth song, "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good." Later, when the radio station played his request, he posted, "Thanks. Great song to go postal and kill a bunch of people."
FBI internet investigators tracked Lefever to a computer at the Appleton Public Library, where he was taken into custody.
Lefever has been arrested a few times before, including once for the exact same crime. In 1999, Lefever was convicted of two counts of unlawful use of computerized communication.
He's also got a disorderly conduct conviction in his past, though that one dates all the way back to 1992.
DeWall said Lefever was taken into custody without incident, though police were prepared to treat him as a dangerous arrest, given the nature of his threats.
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